Hit, walk, and walk → three out of the second division in Okinawa. Will he make the first team appearance with a secret weapon of 154km of extortion
Mar 31, 2025
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Heo Yong-joo took the mound in the top of the eighth inning in the Futures League game against the Hanwha Eagles at LG Champions Park in Icheon on the 30th and neatly blocked him with one inning. All of them were impressive in one respect to the left-handed batter and the opponent.
Heo Yong-joo, who first faced Song Ho-jung, the leader No. 8, won the game with a fast fastball from the first pitch. Throwing three fastballs in a row, he induced two fouls to set an advantageous count of 1B2S, and after throwing a 130km curve ball to the winning ball became a one-bound ball, he induced a ground ball in front of the first baseman with a 1446 fastball.
For No. 9 Jung An-seok, a fastball of 147km at the first pitch became a high strike in the middle, and Heo Yong-ju, who got one ball for a pitch clock violation when he tried to throw the third ball of 2S. with a 146km body ball and released his foot, caught it with a ground ball in front of the second base with a fast ball of 147km at the fourth pitch.
The match against No. 1 Lee Sang-hyuk, who had two hits on the day, was interesting. Lee Sang-hyuk was showing a good batting average of 50% with 10 hits in 20 at-bats until the previous at-bat.
Heo Yong-joo also confidently joined Lee Sang-hyuk. Heo Yong-joo, who scored a strike by hitting a 147km fastball in the middle of the first pitch, ended the inning by inducing a ground ball in front of the third baseman with a 145km fastball on the third pitch in 1B1S. The number of pitches was 12, of which eight were strikes.
Heo Yong-joo is a 1m94 tall pitcher who graduated from Yongma High School and joined as 67th in the seventh round in 2023, and is a prospect who distributes more than 150km of fast balls. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop called Heo Yong-joo to Jamsil every time there was a home game from the middle of last season with pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam to provide intensive guidance with pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam. In order to stabilize control, I trained to make a simple form and develop the senses of my fingertips.
In the Futures League at the end, the number of walks decreased, and the ball speed was 154km. He expected to grow into a promising player by sending a finishing camp to the Junichi Dragons in Japan.
Heo Yong-ju, who was included in the first-team camp and trained in Arizona for the first time, pitched for the first time in the Blue and White match on February 20, and allowed three hits, one strikeout, and two runs in one inning. He shot a maximum of 152km and received positive reviews just for not having a walk.
However, the process so far has been broken down in the Okinawa practice game. He showed poor control again in a practice game against KT Wiz on the 2nd. Heo Yong-joo, who took the mound in the top of the ninth inning, trailing 0-2, allowed consecutive straight walks to Kang Hyun-woo and Oh Jae-il after receiving a hit from Yoo Jun-kyu. The problem was that very little of the ball went near the strike zone. There were also two wild pitches. He took a maximum speed of 150km, but the ball that was not controlled was of no use. Director Yeom "I'm worried that my efforts will go up in smokeIt was to the point where it said ".
After that, Heo Yong-ju, who went down to the second division, resumed basic training. It aims to throw it in the actual game about once a week, check the condition, and wear the basic skills to the actual game.
On this day, the permission state showed a maximum speed of 147km. It may be because of the chilly weather, or it may have lowered the restraint to catch the control. If he continues his stable pitching in the second division, his goal this season, the first division, is unlikely to be difficult.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
