There seems to be no place for rookies in the opening entry of the KIA Tigers’ 2024 professional baseball league. In February, two of the rookies were named in the spring camps in Canberra, Australia, and Okinawa, Japan. They were right-hander Cho Dae-hyun and side arm Kim Min-ju in the seventh round. Cho Dae-hyun returned home en route from Okinawa, and Kim Min-ju completed the camp. Kim Min-ju showed competitiveness by keeping the first division until the exhibition game.
At the first real game in the Canberra camp, he struck out all three batters, drawing keen attention. In a practice game against the Japanese Yakult, he also marked all three batters with poor batting, erasing the first inning. He displayed a sharp slider that penetrated the left batter’s knee on a fastball that measured over 145 kilometers.
After taking the mound, he showed off his strong pitching. Manager Lee Bum-ho praised his pitching and attitude, saying, “Baseball is not based on age. Other pitchers should follow suit for training and playing in games. Growing players must learn how to play.” He even learned changeups in the camp, challenging his entry into the opening game.
He got off to a flying start in the exhibition game as well. At a game against the NC Dinos in Changwon on Tuesday, he handled the two batters in a clean manner and did his part. However, he couldn’t afford to take the mound for the second time. At a game against the Hanwha Eagles on Sunday, Jang Min-ki, the starting pitcher, allowed a large number of runs in the first inning due to his struggle with ball control, and his team collapsed. He suddenly had to warm up and take the mound, and thus failed to display his ball power.
He managed to finish the first inning with difficulty, as he had hits and walks. Still, he managed to block the next inning without allowing any run. He gave two hits and three walks in one ⅔ inning, and allowed two runs. In a game against the KT Wiz on Friday, he was an interim pitcher, but allowed two hits and one walk, and allowed two runs. It was painful to get a two-run homerun from Kang in the sixth inning.
“I had conversations with my coaches about democracy. Five games are important between Kiwoom, the opponent team for the opening game, and Lotte, the next opponent. As there are many left-handed hitters, the team wanted to use left-handed pitchers rather than side arms. It is also important to include a rookie in the opening entry. However, if you lose your mind in the beginning, you can go for a full year. The timing is important for rookies.” He said he would call them at the right time. 메이저사이트
For now, the team will operate a left-handed bullpen session in lieu of Kim Min-ju, a sidearm player, for one week. The team seems to have taken into account the fact that sidearm pitchers such as Lim Ki-young of the team that will surely win, and Yoon Joong-hyun, who can throw multiple innings, are in good condition. As Kim Min-ju has already displayed competitiveness in camp and exhibition games, she is good at utilizing the top-tier Korean Professional Baseball League. She was also impressed by the coach’s performance. He is expected to elevate his ball power in the second-tier Futures League and contribute to the mound in the first-tier league. He will likely make his debut a little late.