A rookie catcher who completed the camp called the second Kang Min-ho...Why did you go to the 2nd Army even though you acknowledged the defense?
Mar 11, 2025
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SSG Landers changed the composition of the team ahead of the exhibition game against the Hanwha Eagles at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 10th.
Pitchers Choi Min-joon and Kim Hyun-jae, infielder Choi Jun-woo and catcher Shin Bum-soo Kim Kyu-min, who came from Futures Camp, were called up, and rookie catcher Lee Yul-ye moved to the Futures team. Kim Hyun-jae and Kim Kyu-min were selected as pitching and batting MVPs at the Futures 2nd camp in Kagoshima, Japan.
Lee Yul-ye, who graduated from Gangneung High School, is a promising catcher who joined the first round of the 2025 rookie draft (8th overall).
As a former member of the youth team, he was recognized for his potential, receiving the 「Lee Man-soo Catcher Award」, and was evaluated as high school level or higher in defense.
SSG also prepared for the season at the Florida 1st camp in the U.S. and Okinawa 2nd camp in Japan, looking high at Lee Yul-ye's growth potential early on. With Lee Ji-young as the main catcher, they competed with Cho Hyung-woo for the backup catcher position.
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A little more completeness was needed in the batting area. Lee Yul-ye played in 24 games on the high school stage last year and recorded a batting average of 372 home runs, 16 RBIs, 28 points and an OPS (long hitting rate + on base rate) of 1.022. The high school stage was so calm that it was called the 'second Kang Min-ho', but the professional stage was different.
SSG Director Lee Sung-yong "The striking mechanism needs to be modified. I decided that it's better to trim and make my own", he explained.
It was well received in defense. Director Lee also said, `I was very recognized in terms of defense.' As much as the defense is good, the idea was that if it improved a little more in hitting, it could do its part perfectly on the first-team stage. Coach Lee decided that it would be better to make a little more of the hitting part " (because of the recognition in defense). I thought it would be better to play a lot of games in the second division."
Cho Hyung-woo became the likely backup catcher to support Lee Ji-young. Director Lee said, "(Lee Yul-ye's joining in the opening entry) remains to be seen. First of all, I think Cho Hyung-woo will have an opportunity." Cho Hyung-woo, who joined SSG in the second round of the rookie draft (8th overall) in 2021, first came to the first team in 2022 and played 90 games in three years.
On the other hand, for the five players who were called up on the day, "We are creating a system that motivates the second-tier players and confirms them by putting up good players." he said.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
