New weapon + 93kg bulk up! A genius rookie who was hidden by Ahn Hyun-min's Song Seung-ki evolves a monster in Miyazaki

Nov 10, 2025

A game between Doosan and KT held at Jamsil Stadium on the 22nd. Choi Min-seok, the starting pitcher of Doosan Bears, is being replaced with a runner left in the fifth inning. Jamsil = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.08.22/

A game between the Doosan Bears and the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th. Doosan starter Choi Min-seok is coming down from the mound. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.28/

[Miyazaki(Japan) = Reporter Han Dong-hoon of Sports Chosun] If you think of the 「Super Rookie」 that hit the KBO League in the 2025 season, Ahn Hyun-min (KT) and Song Seung-ki (LG) will definitely come to mind. It's because they're covering up, but Doosan Bears right-hander Choi Min-seok (19) also proved his great genius. Choi Min-seok was even a pure rookie in his first year of high school, unlike Ahn Hyun-min and Song Seung-ki.

Choi Min-seok heralded 'evolution' through the closing camp in Miyazaki, Japan. Choi Min-seok is a pitcher with a high proportion of two-seam fastballs. Choi Min-seok plans to diversify his rafters by adding splitters and grinding and polishing four-seam fastballs. They also try to gain stronger physical conditions by weighing up to 93kg.

Choi Min-seok pitched his second bullpen session in camp on the 10th. Following the first 35 pitches, he threw 50 pitches on the day, gradually increasing his intensity. "In the beginning, I went in as well as I wanted, maybe because it's been a long time since I threw a ball. But toward the second half, I was so tired that I couldn't control it well.'

The new head coach Kim Won-hyung also gave careful advice. Choi Min-seok "The coach said you have to fix your left foot well when throwing. He said it's okay to shake after throwing, but he said it should be fixed until throwing." He also advised not to obsess too much about corner work and throw it similarly to the center. He said, "The purpose is to make the batter hit it anyway, so he told me to throw it with that intention."

Looking back on this season, Choi Min-seok said "At first, I threw it without thinking, but I got greedy. Still, it was a fun throwing season, and I learned so much."

Choi Min-seok recorded 3 wins, 3 losses and an ERA of 4.40 in 77 ⅔ innings (15 starts). For the first time among 2025 new people, they achieved quality start and quality start plus.

A game between the Doosan Bears and the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th. Choi Min-seok of Doosan is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.28/

He felt the importance of routine as he pitched every four to five days. "I thought I could throw it for a long time, depending on how well I prepared for that time. I felt I had to set up a routine. "I asked Kwak Bin, Choi Seung-yong, and Choi Won-jun a lot. I'm looking for catch ball, bullpen pitching timing, and rest time little by little. Training, such as weighting, has a lot of more to study."

It also signaled a change in technology. Choi Min-seok said, "I want to refine the splitter in more detail. Next year, I'm practicing to throw four-seam balls together"I don't want to be greedy. I think there will be good results if I have fun while purely enjoying baseball like this year."

He also said "I want to build a body that can throw strong balls without getting sick. I'm thin, but I need to gain more weight. Now it's 89kg, but my goal is to increase it to 93kg and maintain more than 90kg even if I lose during the season."

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.