5th starter confirmed → Na Kyun-an shaking the first plate, full of weight...Conditions for clearing question marks
Mar 13, 2025
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Will Lotte Giants Na Kyun-an be able to do his part as the fifth starter this season.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung confirmed Na Kyun-an as the fifth starter and explained, `I gave a chance to a player with a lot of experience in starting first.'
He has shown extraordinary sincerity since he turned to a pitcher. He is literally a pitcher who came from the bottom to the starting line. He has experience playing various roles, including chasing team, Madangsoe, must-win team, and stable starting pitcher.
The aftermath of last year's one-year slump was significant. There have been only two quality starts (more than six innings and less than three earned runs) and have been sluggish throughout the first half He was forced out of the starting lineup due to the team's own disciplinary action.
I wasn't very satisfied with this year's spring camp either. Still, the head coach believed in Na Kyun-an.
There is a reason. Relatively, the competitors' experience in the first team is too low. Na Kyun-an has no choice but to be given priority.
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Park Joon-woo, a rookie last year, steadily played in the starting rotation at Futures last year, but had an ERA of 5.05. Manager Kim Tae-hyung, who highly rated the ball, called up the first team, but only two games and two innings were available. Lee Byung-joon has none at all.
Head coach Kim Tae-hyung also expected from Lee Min-seok, who was in his fourth year as a professional, but when he looked back at the last camp, his strong ball control was noticeable, but his control was still not satisfactory.
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On the other hand, the bullpen is full of veterans who have been through all their careers. Considering Choi Jun-yong, who will return, the must-win group that will lead to Kim Sang-soo, Koo Seung-min, Jung Chul-won, Choi Jun-yong and Kim Won-joong is not behind any other team.
Last year, he suffered a lot from the early steel plate due to the difficulties of the starters. The cause of the collapse in the second half was the heavy burden on the bullpen.
It is reasonable to expect newcomers with too much uncertainty to feed their experiences in the first-tier bullpen first, and Na Kyun-an will somehow prevent five innings.
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There have been two bases loaded crises, but they have repeatedly defended well. Before being replaced, he added four strikeouts and blocked 69 pitches and one run. It is also a virtue of a starting pitcher to hold out for a long time even if he is not in good condition. Expectations for Na Kyun-an are different from last year's when he was the fourth starter.
From the standpoint of Na Kyun-an, there are not a few things to improve. Above all, it is necessary to restore the use of various types of pitches in the past.
Na Kyun-an was highly praised for his ball control that makes good use of the strike zone when he turned to a pitcher, and for being able to throw various pitches such as fastballs, sliders, and fork curves despite his lack of pitching experience. The sense of the fingertips was good enough to add two-seam and cut fastballs. Through this, the water fight, which was a catcher, stood out.
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It was the same in this game against LG. In the moment of crisis, the forkball 'luxury' shone without fail, but out of a total of 69 pitches, he threw as many fork balls (29) as fastballs (30).
Will Na Kyun-an be able to overcome the controversy over his personal history and become the fifth starter. The use of various types of pitches can be a condition for Na Kyun-an to regain his past appearance.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
