Find the second Hong Min-ki, Lee Min-seok. Lotte Young-guns who are going to study abroad during the season.
Jul 29, 2025
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Lotte will dispatch pitchers Kim Ki-joon (21) and Park Joon-woo (20) and outfielders Cho Se-jin (22) and Kim Dong-hyun (21) to the U.S. driveline on August 1.
Lotte Club is providing young players with opportunities to study abroad for a short period of time, including the U.S. and Japan, if they have an opportunity.
Representative players are Lee Min-seok (22), who has emerged as one of the pillars of this year's starting team, and Hong Min-ki (24), who has been reborn as a must-win group.
Lee Min-seok's visit to Chiba Lotte's first-team closing camp last year and Hong Min-ki's visit to the next base of the Japanese baseball academy in April was an opportunity to grow rapidly as the team's main player. Lee Min-seok is 1m89 and Hong Min-ki is 1m85 and they are pitchers who throw fastballs in the mid-150km range.
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The four players leaving this time are also promising prospects that Lotte expects.
Kim Ki-jun, a Gyeongbuk High School graduate, wore a Lotte uniform in the fourth round of 2023, and his strengths are heavy fastballs and large curves from his tall height of 1m88. I was discharged from the military last March after completing my military service. In this year's Futures, he played in only one game (one scoreless inning against KT Wiz on July 9).
So far, he is a player who stands out for his stories outside of baseball rather than in-game. In an interview with Sports Chosun ahead of the 2023 season, Kim Ki-jun said, "I went to the hospital and happened to meet David Buchanan (former Samsung Lions). When I introduced myself as 'Won Tae-in's junior, he welcomed me. I just happened to have the ball, so I learned to change up. He taught me surprisingly kindly, from grip holding the ball to swing of the arm. He explained that he was able to throw change-ups in real life right away. "The moment his life changed. "
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Park Joon-woo, a former Yushin High School player, joined the fourth round in 2024 and became famous at the Futures All-Star Game last year for his costume play of 「Sajik Karina」. She taught Karina of the girl group Aespa to throw the first pitch. It features a heavy fastball that falls from a tall height of 1m90 and a comprehensive visual that matches well with a cross-dressing. He played in seven games earlier this year under the impression of head coach Kim Tae-hyung, but has been cleaning himself up in the second division after hitting the wall of the first division.
Cho Se-jin, a graduate of Seoul High School, is considered Lotte's best batting prospect. He joined Lotte in the second round of 2022 (four times overall) and was highly anticipated to play in 39 games in the first year of his debut. Since then, he has yet to show a noticeable appearance after returning from the military service of the Armed Forces Sports Unit. However, he is expected to be a player with a lot of talent, including potential to become a giant, strong shoulders, excellent body balance and speed.
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Lotte plans to provide opportunities for active overseas training for the growth of young players in the future.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.