First place was Hwang Jun-seo, but the winner was Kim Taek-yeon... Jung Hyun-woo? Jung Woo-ju? Who will be laughing next year

Sep 10, 2024

A game between Doosan and Lotte at Jamsil Stadium on the 1st. The bases loaded with two outs in the 10th inning. Doosan Bears' Kim Taek-yeon overcame the crisis of losing points thanks to Jung Soo-bin's good defense. Jamsil = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2024.09.01/

Hwang Jun-seo was the first, but the best rookie was Kim Taek-yeon.

Everything is known only when you open the lid. In particular, baseball has a lot of variables. Whether it's a team or a player, their moves don't just go as expected.

So what's interesting is the designation of a rookie player who will be responsible for the future of the team. The 2025 KBO League Rookie Draft will be held on the 11th. Club officials and fans are paying attention to which player and which team will be held in the arms.

It is a good thing that young players are paying attention to the festival to announce a new start. However, it is dangerous to predict early 'success, failure' in the nomination of players due to excessive interest. It is a reality that follows the cold-headed gaze of `New people are only rookies, but still young high school students.'

Let's look back on this time last year. A big prospect named Jang Hyun-seok (LA Dodgers) chose to go to the U.S., and in fact, it was "Hwang Joon-seo Draft". Hwang Jun-seo, a left-hander from Jangchung High School, was actually the first overall winner. In fact, he was named the first overall pick by the Hanwha Eagles.

The game between the LG Twins and the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 8th. Hanwha Hwang Joon-seo is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.09.08/

At that time, most of the evaluations were that it was a super-high school, a complete left-hander, and Kim Kwang-hyun's Second Coming. It was said that he is a player who will come to the professional league and shake the game right away. However, even for such a promising rookie player, the KBO League wall was high. Since he was not confident in his pitching, he couldn't fight confidently with a higher ratio of folk ball use than a fastball. He has a 5.37 ERA with two wins, eight losses and one hold in 30 games.

It's not just Hwang Joon-seo. Every year, top designated players do not necessarily guarantee success. Hanwha Kim Seo-hyun, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, also had a hard time in his rookie season This year, the pitching form has been revised drastically and has been positioned as a must-win group.

Interest in the top candidates is also great this year. However, Kiwoom Heroes coach Hong Won-ki, who has the first overall nomination right, said "It took Kim Do-young three years." No matter how high you fly on the high school stage, it meant that the wall of professionals was high.

The 79th Cheongryonggi National High School Baseball Championship Gwangju Jeil High School and Deoksu High School were held at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 13th. Deoksu High School's Jung Hyun-woo is struggling. Mokdong = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2024.07.13/

KBSN Sports commentators Park Yong-taek and Yoon Hee-sang were also cool-headed. Analyzing six of the most influential candidates in the first round, he criticized "It's hard to play in the first team right now." He didn't try to kill the young players' spirits, but he gave a reason coldly with grounds. For example, Jung Hyun-woo (Deok High School), who competes for the first place, is slow to catch breaking balls, and Jung Woo-joo (Jeon High School) is a pitching form with a risk of injury. As for Kim Tae-hyung (Deoksu High School), who is a "completed selection resource", he predicted that at the current high school level, it may be at the level of 'playing with' the opponent, but it is difficult to succeed without installing a breaking ball. Regarding Park Joon-soon (Deoksu High School), who is said to be the batter's biggest fish, Park said, `It is difficult to produce long balls with a hit that uses so many wrists", he pointed out. Chung Hyun-woo was the most acclaimed player, and he predicted that he would play the role of the fifth starter or long relief for the rookie season at very best.

The 79th Blue Dragon Open National High School Baseball Championship match between Jeonju High School and Chungam High School held at Shinwol Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 7th. Jeon high school Jung Woo-ju took the mound with two outs in the bottom of the third inning. Shin Wol-dong = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.7/

It is Kim Taek-yeon of the Doosan Bears who received more attention than Hwang Joon-seo mentioned above. God broke the save record and virtually reserved the Rookie of the Year award. Of course, Kim Taek-yeon is also a prospect who received the second overall nomination, but it shows that the ranking of the nomination is not all about success.

To survive a professional career, there must be a feature. Kim Taek-yeon doesn't need it all, and she has a fastball that she doesn't know even though she knows it. In the case of KIA Tigers' Yoon Young-chul, his arrest barely throws around the early 140km range, but he struggles with professional seniors. This is because it has perfect control and location ability. This is why the ability of the team's scout team to catch it is important.

Therefore, all rookie farmers will have to open the lid in the end to know. Which player stands tall as the best rookie this time next year. I'm already curious.

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