Will he be the on-base king with long-shot power? In fact, minimum annual salary → 100 million...The next goal of the 22-year-old first baseman is
Dec 25, 2024
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It seems to be an expression of the veteran in his 30s who succeeded in signing an FA contract. However, the main character is Na Seung-yeop of the Lotte Giants, who is only 22 years old in his fourth year as a professional.
Got into the second round of 2021 (No. 11 overall) spectacularly, but the professional wall was high. Na Seung-yeop completed his military service quickly in November last year through the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu).
And it was the first full-time season. However, Na had a batting average of 312, seven homers and 66 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.880. It was a big turnaround year to be selected for the Premier 12 national team.
Above all, the sword-like pioneer stood out. Even though he couldn't adapt to the ABS (automatic ball determination system) zone at the beginning of the season, 'eye baseball' shone. Since May, he has definitely melted into the professional stage and recorded a monthly batting average of .321 OPS of 0.902. Since then, there have been sluggish performances in August and burning in September, but the season ended with a steady performance without a big break overall.
Na Seung-yeop's annual salary this year was only 40 million won due to his poor first year of debut and military service. The amount is less than the minimum annual salary of the first team (50 million won).
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It is expected that the remaining salary negotiations will continue from January 2nd next year. Key hitters who led this year's lineup, including Na Seung-yeop, Son Ho-young, Yoon Dong-hee, Ko Seung-min, and Hwang Sung-bin, are all likely to enter the billion-dollar salary.
Prior to Na Seung-yeop, there is a player who has been renowned as a pioneer since his days at the Futures and showed his true value on the first-team stage. It's Hong Chang-ki of the LG Twins.
Na Seung-yeop's on-base percentage this season is 411, a brilliant record that is 99 percent different from his batting average. It ranks sixth overall in the on-base percentage category.
In 2020, Hong Chang-ki's first full-time season, the on-base percentage was exactly 411. At that time, Hong Chang-ki proved his value with an on-base percentage that was more than 130 percent different from the batting average despite the disappointment of his long-range power. Hong Chang-ki, who ranked fifth in the on-base percentage, has since achieved the on-base percentage king three times in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
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His feet are fast, too. Na Seung-yeop tied for fifth with 35 doubles this year, and he also hit four triples to increase his slugging percentage.
Although Hong Chang-ki is a player who focuses on getting on base, there is no reason for Na Seung-yeop's on-base percentage to decrease if he can sufficiently increase his slugging power. He may become a competitor who threatens Hong Chang-ki's on-base percentage king in the future.
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lunarfly@sportschosun.com
