Just one person who turns a firm face of Yum Liang into a smile in one second. The best harvest of the season, with a selection of 151 km. 1st choice in Korea next year"
Jul 15, 2024
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Recently, LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop's face is not so bright. It's throwing and hitting a round ball that even the player doesn't know, but no matter how much the coach envisions it, it rarely works.
This is the case with LG this year. As the defending champion, he is one of the strong contenders this year. It was a season worth trying if strong batters and starters supported Ko Woo-seok, who left for the U.S., Lee Jung-yong joined the army, and Ham Deok-ju left for a long time due to surgery. It wasn't easy. Batters who were first in the team batting line last year had a lot of ups and downs. When it burst, it burst, but in an important situation, it was silent and bothered. The bullpen is difficult all season long. New closer Yoo Young-chan pitched the most stable pitching to ease finishing concerns, but rather, the growth of middle pitchers is slow, and it is becoming a very difficult season to continue the lead to the finish.
The same goes for the selection. Foreign pitchers Casey Kelly and Detrick Ness were sluggish together in May, falling to the point where they officially mentioned a replacement. Lim Chan-kyu and Choi Won-tae had to be sidelined by unexpected injuries in June.
In the midst of this, there is only one person who grows as director Yeom's plan. It was only Son Joo-young, the fifth starter. He was a prospect who picked as the second best player in the second round in 2017, but he has not been able to stand out. After being discharged from the military, he entered the 5th starter, but unfortunately, he had to leave due to elbow surgery. I didn't miss the chance to start again after rehabilitation last year.
He is 6-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 17 games this season. He has been steadily rotating and pitching stably. He overpowers the opponent with four pitches, including sliders, curves, and folk balls, with a fast ball of up to 151km. In the beginning, it was not easy to go over five innings, but as he gradually adapted as a starter, he was able to maintain the ball power even if he reached 100 pitches.
On the 13th, when he took the mound under the pressure of four consecutive losses, Daejeon Hanwha led his team to a 7-3 victory with five hits and no runs in six innings. The fifth starter is even playing the role of ace.
Coach Yeom praised Son Joo-young, saying, `Next year, Joo-young is on the way to grow into the first starter in Korea.' Coach Yeom said "It was a maximum of 151 kilometers, but I remember the maximum speed ever taken was 153 kilometers. In my view, the speed could go up even further" "It will be better if the average speed goes up than the maximum speed. Even if the average speed is raised to only 146km, deception is good, so much more effective pitching is possible."
It also gave a high score in that the four pitches are gradually being completed. `At the beginning of the season, the proportion of fastballs and sliders was high, but as the curve and forkball improved, the proportion increased,' he said."If you throw four pitches clearly, you can finish early in the three-point range in the ERA category.' Coach Yeom said, `It's good to be in the early three-point range in the Tago Tozer. Even now, he is the No. 1 ERA in our team," he said, giving compliments and expectations to Son Joo-young.
indyk@sportschosun.com
