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| 2026 KBO rookie draft was held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 17th. Yang Woo-jin of Gyeonggi Air High School, who was nominated by LG in the first round, is taking a commemorative photo. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/ |
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"Why didn't WOO JIN pick yet?"
Baseball officials who were watching the 2026 KBO rookie draft live broadcast on the 17th were puzzled when Yang Woo-jin's name was not called in the first round.
The same goes for the draft site. This year's rookie draft was harder than ever to predict a pick. Except for Park Joon-hyun of Cheonan Bukil High School, who is the No. 1 overall pick, it is unpredictable. As a result, each club created various scenarios according to the choices of the first-order clubs under strict security. Even the NC Dinos, who had the second overall nomination right, made the final decision only on the same day.
The biggest reversal was from the picks of No. 2 NC and No. 3 Hanwha. NC, which seemed a little more likely to nominate a pitcher, nominated Shin Jae-in, the fielder's biggest fish report. Players who are likely to play as third baseman with big guns. However, Shin Jae-in, who was expected to be picked as fourth or fifth baseman in the first round, was chosen much earlier than expected, and the next team's choice changed quickly.
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| 2026 KBO rookie draft was held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 17th. Yoo Shin-go, who was nominated by NC in the first round, is speaking. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/ |
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| 2026 KBO rookie draft was held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 17th. Yoo Shin-go Oh Jae-won, who was nominated by Hanwha in the first round, is speaking. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/ |
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Hanwha also chose outfielder Oh Jae-won, a reported outfielder, rather than a pitcher. By nominating Oh Jae-won, who has speed and contact, he expressed his will to quench his thirst for the outfield.
NC and Hanwha made unconventional nominations, putting them at a crossroads from fourth-ranked Lotte. Yang Woo-jin, who was mentioned as the No. 1 candidate until Park Joon-hyun was agonizing over the major league challenge, was not named in the third place.
And fourth-ranked Lotte chose Dongsan High School pitcher Shin Dong-gun, and the next ball headed to fifth-ranked SSG. SSG agonized over Daegu High School pitchers Kim Min-joon and Yang Woo-jin. But the choice was Kim Min-joon. Given the various simulations, I thought the possibility was the best from the beginning, but I was able to choose Kim Min-joon first without being nominated in the previous turn.
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| 2026 KBO rookie draft was held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 17th. Daegu High School Kim Min-joon, who was nominated in the first round by SSG, is taking a commemorative photo. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/ |
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However, it was not expected that Yang Woo-jin's turn would be pushed to this extent, but as KT, ranked 6th, chose Jeon Ji-hoon, pitcher, and Doosan, ranked 7th, chose Masan Yongmago outfielder Kim Joo-oh 'Surprise Pick', LG, ranked 8th, could eventually nominate Yang Woo-jin. In fact, LG is a pick that I never thought of considering the order. However, when Yang Woo-jin remained until the 8th place, he was able to nominate with a smile.
Although the draft was evaluated as having fewer 'big-class' players compared to last year, one of the factors that raised expectations for a good year for right-handed pitchers was the presence of Park Joon-hyun and Yang Woo-jin.
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| 2026 KBO rookie draft was held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 17th. Yang Woo-jin of Gyeonggi Air High School, who was nominated by LG in the first round, is giving his feelings. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/ |
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However, Yang Woo-jin's designation order of throwing a heavy ball of 150km was pushed back more than expected due to a recent elbow fatigue fracture injury. Although it is not at the level of surgery, it is expected that the difference in skills of the leading candidates in the first round except for Park Joon-hyun was not dramatically large, and it was burdensome to nominate them with the risk of injury.
For LG, who was in the lower ranks, it was good to have a much better player than expected, and other clubs also raised their hopes for next year by nominating candidates with confidence that they had been thinking of first.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
