Cho Daehyun? Kim Hwigun? Yuk Seonyeop? Who will wear the tiger uniform…KIA without “2R”, so I’m looking forward to it
With the upcoming rookie draft slowly drawing attention, who will the KIA Tigers choose in the first round. Under the evaluation that there are many promising pitchers, KIA, which will be nominated for the sixth place overall, is likely to recruit resources for a right-handed fireballer with good physical conditions.
The 2024 KBO Rookie Draft will be held on September 14. With just about a month left, there has been a big change over the nomination of the first round.
First of all, Masan Yongma High School pitcher Jang Hyun-seok, who was the No. 1 candidate overall, expressed his intention to challenge the U.S. stage. Recently, the contract with the LA Dodgers was officially announced.
As Jang Hyun-seok’s name disappeared from the first round of the KBO rookie draft, it was reorganized into the “TOP 2” system of Jangchung High School pitcher Hwang Joon-seo and Incheon High School Kim Taek-yeon. Hwang Joon-seo, the biggest left-hander who can use 150km/h fastball, and Kim Taek-yeon, who showed his true value at the recent presidential national high school baseball tournament, are virtually out of the possibility of being pushed below the third place overall.
From the third place overall, it is the trend of the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period. First of all, Gyeongbuk High School pitcher Jeon Mir, Gangneung High School pitcher Cho Dae-hyun, Whimoon High School pitcher Kim Hwi-gun, and Jangchung High School pitcher Yuk Sun-yeop are expected to enter the next candidate group as right-handed tall fireballers.
Jeon Mir, who won the MVP of the Blue Dragon Flag National High School Baseball Tournament, is also the player with the most rapid increase in evaluation in recent years. Jeon Mir showed a second-rate performance that played both pitching and hitting.
Jeon Mir batted .338/26 hits/three home runs/31 RBIs/on-base percentage 0.513/base percentage 0.519 at this year’s official tournament. As a pitcher, he recorded 4 wins and 1 loss in 17 games with a 1.4848 strikeouts and 20 walks with a WHIP of 0.87 ERA.
Recently, there has been an atmosphere of predicting Jeon Mir’s growth potential as a fielder rather than a pitcher. Lotte Giants, which has been using Kim Min-seok, a fielder resource, in the first round last year, is likely to watch Jeon Mir closely this year.
Of course, KIA should watch the nominations of Lotte, Samsung Lions, and NC Dinos and choose the first round nominee. There is a strong possibility that he will choose the remaining players among Cho Dae-hyun, Kim Hwi-gun, and Yuk Sun-yeop, including Jeon Mir.
Cho Dae-hyun, who played both pitching and batting with Jeon Mir, expressed his intention to focus more on pitchers in the future. Cho Dae-hyun pitched in 18 games in this year’s official tournament with seven wins, no losses, an ERA of 1.2976 strikeouts, 27 walks, and a WHIP of 0.83. It was regrettable that the phenomenon of physical strength deterioration recently came compared to the beginning of this year due to this kind of digestion.
Kim Hwi-gun pitched in nine games of this year’s official tournament, recording two wins, three losses, a 2.12 48 strikeouts, 21 walks, and WHIP 1.00. In the case of Kim Hwi-gun, the order of nomination can be determined by how clubs view the chronic problem of control instability. In the recent presidential competition, he also showed relatively stable control. 먹튀검증
Yuk Sun-yeop pitched in 12 games this year, recording two wins, no losses, an ERA of 0.41 33 strikeouts, nine walks, and WHIP 1.05. It was regrettable that the team failed to show more appearances due to the team’s early elimination from the national tournament and injury to the batting.
KIA is expected to closely observe the previous candidates and anxiously watch the first round nomination on the day of the rookie draft. Last year, the result of the first round nomination became more important as the second round nomination was given to the Kiwoom Heroes during the trade process to bring catcher Joo Hyo-sang.
A KIA official said, “The name of the promising pitcher to be selected in the first round has become more important because there is no right to nominate in the second round this year. We must first watch the choices of the clubs in front of us. Now that the Hampyeong 2nd division development system is well established, I am confident that the players who came to our team will grow well. “This year, we have a lot of good pitching resources, so we plan to focus on pitchers in the third round of nominations,” he said.
Who will be the promising pitcher that KIA, which does not have the right to nominate in the second round, will bring in the first round to watch anxiously this year. The picture of Won-seok, who can throw 150km/h fastball, entering Hampyeong Seungrak School and growing up is also expected to be a pleasant imagination for KIA fans.