Are you sure you took a day off? Up to 153km monster left-hander appeared...63 pitches 5 innings in an instant + 7K Hong Min-ki's crazy 5 innings, a bowl of cold water in the heatwave

Jul 08, 2025

Hong Min-ki is heading to the dugout after finishing a scoreless pitch in the top of the fourth inning against Doosan and Lotte at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 8th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.07.08/

Lotte Giants are also excited to find a big starting prospect. Even in Busan, which is breathtakingly hot, he gave a refreshing feeling as if drinking a bowl of cold water.

Hong Min-ki is the vanguard of Lotte's arrest revolution. He was a pitcher who didn't show anything in the first team compared to rumors that he was called a `cyber pitcher,' but this year is completely different. Fastball-slider 2 pitch alone shows strong power.

In Game 1 of the final series of the first half against the Doosan Bears at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 8th, he was replaced after pitching three hits and one run in five innings. There were no four pitches, and he struck out seven of 15 outcounts.

When I put it in the zone coolly, there were only 65 pitches. He struck out four out of seven with four pitches or less.

The potential literally exploded. He is not the player who was called the `cyber pitcher' because he could not use it in the first team due to his unruly control. He is making good use of his explosive pitches from his tall 1m84 and long arms and long legs.

Lotte starter Hong Min-ki is pitching hard in a game between Doosan and Lotte at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 8th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.07.08/

This season's maximum speed is 156 kilometers.On this day, he threw an average of 150km and a maximum of 153km fastballs (37). There are only two types of pitches, fastball and slider (26). I'm practicing a lot of changeups, but I'm not even ready to use them in practice yet.

It was different from the first inning. He struck out three pitches against Doosan's first batter, Lee Yoo-chan. Jung Soo-bin also struck out after four pitches.

Cave broke the flow. He fouled persistently and dragged him to the 10th pitch. However, he was out after hitting a fly ball to center field.

He scored the first run in the second inning. After one out, Kim Jae-hwan's hit and Park Joon-soon's grounder made it to first base with two outs, and Oh Myung-jin hit an RBI triple that separated the right-center to bring in Park Joon-soon. However, Kang Seung-ho stepped down as a bum in the ensuing chance.

In the third inning, he allowed three outs with eight balls, and Cave a hit in the fourth inning, but Yang Eui-ji's Kim Jae-hwan and Park Joon-soon handled them quickly. In particular, he struck out Kim Jae-hwan Park Joon-soon in the fourth inning and Oh Myung-jin (6 pitches), Kang Seung-ho (7 pitches) and Choo Jae-hyun (5 pitches) in the fifth inning.

Lotte starter Hong Min-ki is pitching hard in a game between Doosan and Lotte at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium on the 8th. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.07.08/

Before the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said of Hong Min-ki's innings and pitch count, `I'll go as far as I can go.' However, he was replaced by Chung Hyeon-su after the fifth inning. There are not many pitches that have been increased yet, and he took the mound for a short time against the KIA Tigers on the 4th and 6th, so it was impossible to pitch any more.

However, Lotte will have Hong Min-ki on the list of candidates following Lee Min-seok. Although there may be less analysis than leading pitchers Park Se-woong and Na Gyun-an, the taste of throwing is different based on good pitching. The mound of 'Crazy Fastball', which leads to Lee Min-seok, Hong Min-ki, Yoon Sung-bin, and Choi Jun-yong, is on the verge of completion.

Lotte produced a four-run big inning with Han Tae-yang's RBI double, Park Chan-hyung's RBI triple, and Reyes' two-run shot following Jang Doo-sung's hit in the fifth inning, and Hong Min-ki even met the conditions for his first win in six years.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.