99-mile fastball, gets faster, Jang Hyun-seok is 21 years old as the 2nd starter of LAD, and he dreams of Sasaki and one-two punch
Mar 06, 2025
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Jang Hyun-seok ranked 17th in the Dodgers in the 「2025 Prospect Ranking」 released by MLB Pipeline on the 6th (Korea time). Among pitchers, he is seventh after No. 1 Rocky Sasaki, No. 4 Jackson Ferris, No. 10 River Ryan, No. 11 Justin Roblesky, No. 13 Nick Prasso, and No. 14 Ben Caspariers.
Among them, Jang Hyun-seok will be the third prospect as a pure minor leaguer, except for Sasaki, a de facto major leaguer, Ryan, Roblesky, and the Casparires, who made their big league debut last year.
It's me that should be noted. Jang Hyun-seok is the second youngest among the 15 pitchers included in the Dodgers 'Promising Top 30'. Samuel Sanchez is the youngest at 19, and Jang Hyun-suk, who was born on March 14, 2024, is the second youngest. This means that the growth potential is endless.
MLB Pipeline gave a fastball 60, curve 50, slider 60, and change-up 55 for each type of pitch (20 to 80 points) in scouting reports, and rated it as a control 40 and an overall rating of 45. The Dodgers secured a $1 million international bonanza in August 2023 by trading then-promising pitchers Aldrin Batista and Maximo Martinez to the Chicago Cubs to give Jang a Sining Bonus. Jang Hyun-suk signed a signing contract for $900,000 of Sining Bonus.
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Jang Hyun-suk's greatest strength is his strikeout ability. He struck out 68 against 166 batters last year, marking a 41% strikeout rate. This is within the top 3% of the entire minor league.
The MLB Pipeline was considered the best stub in the minor league, and his fastball was formed at a maximum of 99 miles and an average of 94 to 96 miles, and penetrated the strike zone well. The 6-foot-4 (1m93) is also strong, so the speed can be increased further, and a solid slider in the mid-80s is the second main weapon, and a big curve in the late 70s and a changeup in the late 80s last summer showed more growth than expected.
In the meantime, 'He gave up 27 walks in 36 ⅔ innings, compared to throwing a lot of strikes as an amateur, and the result of better pitching form correction and head shaking is 'Juss believes that Jang Hyun-seok's problem is related to targeting rather than physical aspects, and believes that it will help further develop athletic ability in the future. If he can adjust his control, he expects positively that he will be a potential second starter.
Jang Hyun-seok took the mound as a relief in a home game against the ACL Padres (under the San Diego Padres) on June 23 when he was a rookie-level ACL Dodgers player last year and threw 12 pitches in one inning, with a fastball speed of up to 99 miles.
When he was at Masan Yongma High School, he attracted the attention of Major League scouts by throwing a fastball in the mid-150km range, and gave up the KBO League early and challenged the Major League. In 2023, when he was a third grader, his fastball speed was up to 158 kilometers.
MLB Pipeline predicted that Jang Hyun-suk will make his Major League debut in 2027. It's the year he turns 23.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
