– Doosan Bears, Seoul High 150km/h left-handed Lee Byung-hun likely to choose
– LG Team Leader Baek Seong-jin “Jo Won-tae is a good pitcher… lacks experience in pitching to the end”
– Cho Won-tae, the leader of the association, recorded 146-147 km/h and was the first choice for the LG Twins snow painting
– Sungkyunkwan University Joo Seung-woo, the player closest to the immediate sense of power… There is a high chance of being chosen by Kiwoom
(Korea Sports News = Correspondent Jeon Sang-il) The first round of chaos in Seoul has come a few days away. Each club in the Seoul area is preparing for the final choice while hiding its strategy. However, there is no choice but to make a choice, and the outline is gradually revealed over time.
(As the title suggests, the reporter’s eyes make it clear that this is a reporter’s expected article.)
First, it is expected that Doosan, who has the first priority, will go round and round and choose Lee Byung-hun (185/90, left, 3rd grader), a senior at Seoul High School. Lee Byung-hun injured his elbow during a practice match against Sunrin Internet High on April 14. A high school official who knows Lee Byung-hun well said, “Byung-hun is not the type to be rude or show off. However, if you come down holding your elbow during the game, you have a big problem. It seems that the surgery went well. I think it’s rather late. At the current pace, I might be able to stand on the mound in the middle of next year.”
Here, two external circumstances forced Lee Byung-hun’s first nomination.
First of all, there are not many pitchers in Seoul. This year, Seoul has a shortage of pitchers to the point where it is not easy to pick a pitcher who will definitely enter the pick-up area. However, there is a gap compared to the previous year. The rest of the pitchers still need to watch more. This is why Lee Byung-hun’s value rises even with an injury.
In addition, Lee Byung-hun fully showed his true worth in 2020, when he was a sophomore. Not only did he record 151km/h in the Sunlin Internet Classic in the weekend league in May last year, he also appeared in most of the phoenix games and led the team to the finals. The speed was also consistently shown in the second half of 140km/h in the game. However, Cho Won-tae did not show as much performance as Lee Byung-hun showed last year. He was the best pitcher in the Seoul area since middle school to the extent that he caught the eye of Doosan manager Yoon Hyuk during his time in Yeongdong Middle School three years ago.
The choice of the LG Twins, which holds the second pick right, is highly likely to be Sunlin Internet High School Cho Won-tae (186/88, left, 3rd grader). In fact, the dominance of the first selection in the Seoul area depended on Cho Won-tae. Depending on what Jo Won-tae looked like, the game for the first round of nomination could change.
For Cho Won-tae, the last Blue Dragon was the best opportunity. At that time, Doosan Bears team leader Lee Bok-geun and LG Twins team leader Baek Seong-jin were in the stadium and kept the stadium until the end. LG, Doosan, and Kiwoom team members skipped lunch and closely observed Cho Won-tae’s pitch. At that time, Cho Won-tae showed good pitching in the middle of the game, but he could not block just one inning and used the yoke of defeat.
At the time of Blue Dragon, the LG team leader Baek Seong-jin said, “We are cautious about evaluating Cho Won-tae in a situation where Doosan has priority. Obviously, Cho Won-tae is a good pitcher. However, I transferred from Deoksu High School last year, and I have never thrown 105 since I entered high school. I have no experience tossing in a big game. He’s mostly pitched short innings, and this year he’s missed a few months with an ankle injury. It seems that the stamina in the 9th inning fell sharply due to various factors.‘ he said cautiously. A similar factor was also analyzed for the drop in speed during the Blue Dragon period.
The same was true of Doosan officials. “It was (a lot) overkill. I don’t have the stamina to throw that much, but 105 pitches in a national competition in a heat wave is different from practice games or weekend leagues. “Today must have been my first 105 pitches,” he said.
It was similar in the long term of the association. He showed a perfect pitch when pitching short innings. In the first match against K-Pop High, he showed a perfect pitch by striking out 4 in 2.2 innings. The speed also soared to a maximum of 145 km/h. In the three commercials, he gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, 8 hits, 2 out of 5 innings. Strikeouts caught 10. It was good enough to catch all three batters by striking out in the first inning, but it got harder and harder. The maximum speed was 146 km/h (based on Hanwha Eagles speedgun).
However, most officials agreed that there are very few left-handed pitchers like this in the country. The same goes for Lee Byung-hun and Cho Won-tae, who are ranked first and second in the left-handed rankings. A local club official said, “He is a pitcher with good qualities. The pitcher I was most curious about from last year was Cho Won-tae. It will be a good resource if it is polished well.” Former Hanwha coach Min-tae Jeong also praised him, saying, “He has a good pitching mechanism and can grow quickly.”
Cho Won-tae was also selected for the U-23 national team this year and was also selected for the youth team. Coach Choi Jae-ho, whom I met in Gongju, also said, “I recommended it to the association. He is a good left-handed pitcher. Jimin (Choi) of our team is a pitcher that will get better in the future, and Won-tae is a pitcher who is already on track to some extent.”
Lastly, the Kiwoom Heroes are highly likely to choose the best college pitcher Joo Seung-woo (186/85, Woo Woo, 4th year university).
He is the certified No. 1 pitcher who led the heyday of Sungkyunkwan University this season. Joo Seung-woo’s competitor Seoul Wonbin Jo (190/91, left, 3rd grader) at Convention High Schoolam. Jo Won-bin’s physical condition is considered to be the best among all players this year. On-site evaluation is that he is fast even at 190cm tall and his shoulders are top-notch. A parent official said, “It is possible even now as a large defender and a large runner.“It is enough to say. However, the blow is disappointing. It has been raising doubts about the blow since the last Stove League. The same is true for Golden Lion. LG’s general manager Cha Myung-seok was interested enough to visit the Golden Lion Convention High School match, but it was impressive. did not show
The lack of pitchers compared to the fielders overflowing with this year’s draft is also the reason why Joo Seung-woo is the first pick. What matters in the draft is rarity. This year’s outfielder market is estimated to be the best in recent years. As a rough estimate, about 10 high school outfielders are expected to be nominated. In addition, Joo Seung-woo was evaluated as having the most immediate sense of power among the three in terms of skills.
Seoul must notify the clubs in the following order of the first-nominated players by the date set under the agreement of Doosan, LG, and Kiwoom. And on August 23 (Mon), the first-nominated players will be announced.
By Jeon Sang-il (nintend99@naver.com)
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