13 billion ML top prospect, Kim Do-young overwhelms with just 100 million...The legend of future ML advancement is also admired, and he is already playing worldwide
Dec 24, 2024
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Kim Do-young (21, KIA Tigers) was the brightest player on the stage of the '2024 WBSC Premier 12" held in Taipei, Taiwan last month. Although South Korea was eliminated with 3 wins and 2 losses in Group B of the first round due to being held back by Japan and Taiwan, Kim Do-young flew in the airlift. Scouts from major league teams who visited Taipei also visited the match against Korea and recorded Kim Do-young's play in detail. Kim Do-young hit .412 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and an OPS of 1.503 in five games of the tournament. It was the moment when Kim Do-young expanded her stage from Korea to the world.
Kim Do-young has now emerged as a player that the world is paying attention to. WBSC released the list of the top 10 players who played in the 2024 Premier 12 on the 23rd (Korea Standard Time). Alex Cohen, who was the commentator for the tournament, voted, and Cohen put Kim Do-young's name in third place. On the 21st, Kim Do-young was ranked 7th on the top 10 list selected by MLB.com reporter Michael Clare. He was the only Korean player and the only top-10 player from a country that failed in the first round.
Regarding why Cohen placed Kim in third place "Korea did not advance to the Super Round, but Kim's power and hitting were a good thing to see in Taiwan.", he commented.
Kim Do-young drew attention by lightly beating Travis Bazana (22, Cleveland Guardians), a top prospect who is paying attention to the most recently. Bazana, an infielder, wore a uniform to Cleveland as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 MLB Rookie Draft. He is the first Australian to write the history of being named the first overall No. 1 rookie draft in the Major League. Cleveland gave Bazana $8.95 million (about 13 billion won) in down payment alone. He is a player who boasts a ransom that is incomparable to Kim Do-young's annual salary of 100 million won this year.
In Premier 12, Kim Do-young flew so fast that she couldn't even compare to Bazana. Bajana, who played for Australia, hit only 0.263 (5 hits in 19 at-bats) with an RBI and an OPS of 0.596. It didn't produce any home runs. Cohen placed Bazana in fifth place, while Claire did not even put Bazana in the top 10.
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Cruz liked third baseman (Kim Do-young), who hit a lot of home runs. I think I can see it on the major league stage in the future. There are cases of advancing to the United States from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and I think he is a talented player. I think I will be able to make it to the big leagues later,' Kim said in high regard.
Kim Do-young graduated from Gwangju Dongseong High School and joined KIA with the first nomination in 2022 and burst her potential this year, her third year as a professional. In 141 games this season, he won the league MVP title with a batting average of 0.347 (189 hits in 544 at-bats), 38 homers, 109 RBIs, 143 runs, 40 steals, and 1.067 OPS. He achieved 10 home runs-10 steals per month for the first time in history, the youngest 30 home runs-30 steals, and the youngest and the smallest 100 points in games. Kim Do-young swept the top player award at various award ceremonies, including the Golden Glove in the third baseman category. Currently, his annual salary next year is the top concern, and it is predicted that he will surpass 400 million won in annual salary for the first time in his fourth year as a professional player.
It was last April. While watching outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (26, San Francisco Giants), who received good treatment for challenging the U.S. Major League this year, KIA manager Lee Bum-ho once said, "Wouldn't it be great if our KIA had a player to send to the Major League?" The most likely player picked at that time was Kim Do-young.
Director Lee said, `It's really hard to do that at that age. It's a really difficult task, and as a team and a manager, it would be great if we had a player who would grow up well and become a good player and send our KIA to the Major League."
It's been about eight months now. Kim Do-young has surpassed the level of prospects expected to advance to the Major League and stood as a leading hitter representing Korean baseball. These days, Kim Do-young feels like she has only four years left to qualify for the major leagues.
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rina1130@sportschosun.com
