0.429 KIA Futures Bomber shines again, will it come when testing new vitality as the semifinals are in danger

Aug 19, 2025

0.429 KIA Futures Bomber shines again, will it come when testing new vitality as the semifinals are in danger
A game between SSG and KIA at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 22nd. KIA Kim Seok-hwan hit a come-from-behind two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. Kim Seok-hwan is being congratulated by his colleagues. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.06.22/



KIA Tigers are in danger of the 5th round. While the atmosphere needs to be ventilated 'Futures Bomber' Kim Seok-hwan is flying.

Kim Seok-hwan has a batting average of 0.429 (12 hits in 28 times at bat), two homers and six RBIs in eight Futures League games since August. His performance in the Futures League season is 50 games, a batting average of 0.349 (60 hits in 172 times at bat), an on-base percentage of 0.444, a slugging percentage of 0.651, 13 home runs, and 38 RBIs. Kim Seok-hwan is currently the hottest hitter on the Futures team.

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho sent Kim Seok-hwan down to the second division on the 11th of last month. It was to clear the position of Na Sung-beom, the main right fielder who recovered from a calf injury.




Kim Seok-hwan was a great help when KIA made a splash by ranking first in the winning rate in June. He hit .290 (9 hits in 31 at-bats) with one homer and 10 RBIs in 13 games in June. He showed off his slugging power, including two triplets, revitalizing the lineup.

In July, his batting average remained similar at 0.286 (four hits in 14 at-bats). Instead, he failed to produce any long balls, striking out eight while getting one walk. At that time, with Ko Jong-wook and Kim Ho-ryeong's batting sense rising, Kim Seok-hwan was pushed back at the time.

KIA manager Lee Bum-ho sent Kim Seok-hwan down to the second division, saying, `We still lack a physical fight. It is important to watch the game with one ball when the situation occurs. Fouls keep coming out. When a ball worth hitting comes, (Choi) Hyung-woo or players who play well hit hard to win the game, whether it's an outfield fly ball, but Seok-hwan is fouled. If a pitcher is fouled by a ball thrown in the middle, the pitcher thinks he is in trouble and throws a deeper and more difficult ball. You have to study that because the ball that needs to be played keeps getting fouled. Maybe because I haven't been to many at-bats yet, I'm not good enough. If such a thing goes well, an in-play ball can come out. "I have to keep practicing making balls into in-play balls rather than fouls, and timing them," he said.




0.429 KIA Futures Bomber shines again, will it come when testing new vitality as the semifinals are in danger
A game between the LG Twins and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th. KIA Kim Seok-hwan is cheering after hitting a timely hit with one out in the top of the sixth inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.06.28/
0.429 KIA Futures Bomber shines again, will it come when testing new vitality as the semifinals are in danger
A game between SSG and KIA at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 22nd. KIA Kim Seok-hwan hit a come-from-behind two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. Kim Seok-hwan is cheering around the ground. Incheon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.06.22/
KIA had a precarious second half during the 39 days when Kim Seok-hwan was away. He is ranked 10th with eight wins, one draw and 13 losses in the second half of the year. He is tied for fifth with KT Wiz and NC Dinos with 53 wins, 4 draws and 53 losses in the season. Other five-way competition teams are still in the top five thanks to their sluggish performance at the same time, and if the losing streak is longer, it will fall to seventh place in a flash.

KIA is currently in a bad bullpen situation. The bullpen's ERA in the second half of the year is soaring to 5.47. As a result, only the bullpen is attracting attention, but the firepower is not very good. The team batting average remains in seventh place with a 0.255 batting average.

Kim Sun-bin (0.347) and Na Sung-beom (0.300), who joined in the second half, are doing as well as expected, and hitters such as Ko Jong-wook (0.259), Kim Ho-ryeong (0.244), Choi Hyung-woo (0.241), Oh Sun-woo (0.219), Park Chan-ho (0.210) and Wisdom (0.209) are generally heavy. It is also time to think about the use of outfield backups Lee Chang-jin (0.211) and Park Jung-woo (four hits in no at-bats).




The bullpen made a decision one by one, giving time to reorganize in the second division in turn to Cho Sang-woo and Jung Hae-young. The fielder has not changed his entry since Lee Chang-jin came up as Kim Do-young left due to his third hamstring injury on the 8th. It's not time to test because the competition for the semifinals is urgent, but there seems to be a need to ventilate the atmosphere.

0.429 KIA Futures Bomber shines again, will it come when testing new vitality as the semifinals are in danger
A game between the LG Twins and the KIA Tigers at Jamsil Stadium on the 29th. KIA Kim Seok-hwan, with one out and runners on the second and third bases, is flying toward the third base after hitting a timely hit in the top of the sixth inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.06.29/




This article was translated by Naver AI translator.