Title: Lotte Baseball Club Shows Promise for the Future
Subtitle: Young Players Bring Hope Amidst Current Turmoil
[OSEN=By Cho Hyeong-rae, Reporter]
The Future Shines Bright for Lotte Baseball Club
The present may be chaotic, but thoughts of the future bring a smile to my face. Once again, it has been confirmed that Lotte Baseball Club has a promising future.
In preparation for the upcoming Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) to be held in November at the Tokyo Dome, the KBO recently announced its preliminary roster consisting of 62 players. The team includes 30 pitchers, 7 catchers, 17 infielders, and 8 outfield players. Players under the age of 24 or within 3 years of joining the professional league were eligible, along with 3 “wild card” players born on or after January 1, 1994.
Lotte Baseball Club boasts the largest representation in the preliminary roster, with nine players selected. Pitchers Jin Seung-hyeon, Choi Jun-yong, and Kim Jin-wook, catcher Jeong Bo-geun, Son Seong-bin, infielder Han Dong-hee, and outfielders Yoon Dong-hee, Go Seung-min, and Kim Min-seok have all made the cut. These selections offer a well-rounded representation across various positions. Notably, three out of the four players selected from Sangmu belong to Lotte Baseball Club, including infielder Han Tae-yang, Na Seung-yeop, and outfielder Choo Jae-hyeon.
However, amidst positive news for the future, Lotte currently finds itself in a state of disarray following the voluntary resignation of coach Larry Sutton due to health reasons. With rumors swirling about the command tower for the next season, Lotte’s priority is to stabilize the team’s structure. Although a recent 5-2 victory over Hanwha ended a seven-game losing streak, there is still much ground to cover.
Future Hope Lies Within Lotte’s Talented Roster
The fate of Lotte Baseball Club may be uncertain, but the potential of its promising young talents offers a glimmer of hope. The roster includes players like Jeong Bo-geun, Han Dong-hee, Choo Jae-hyun from 2018, Go Seung-min from 2019, Choi Jun-yong from 2020, Kim Jin-wook, Son Seong-bin, Na Seung-yeop from 2021, Jin Seung-hyeon, Yoon Dong-hee, Han Tae-yang from 2022, and Kim Min-seok from 2023. This talent pool serves as an encouraging sign for the club’s future prospects.
Within the pitching staff, Jin Seung-hyeon, Choi Jun-yong, and Kim Jin-wook stand out as invaluable resources who represent the future of Lotte Baseball Club. Catchers Jeong Bo-geun and Son Seong-bin, although overshadowed by starting catcher Yoo Kang-nam, possess exceptional talent and expertise, making them top contenders. Meanwhile, Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok have quickly established themselves as key players in Lotte’s outfield, impressing in their second year and rookie season, respectively. While Han Dong-hee and Go Seung-min may be experiencing ups and downs this year, they still hold tremendous potential as hitters.
The Sangmu team, playing in the Future League, is also gaining valuable experience throughout the year. Na Seung-yeop has stood out with an impressive 306 batting average, 4 homers, 49 RBIs, and an OPS of .846 in 74 Future League games. Choo Jae-hyun also boasts an impressive record of a .319 batting average, 4 homers, 27 RBIs, and an OPS of .886 in 42 games. Han Tae-yang, with a .333 batting average, 2 homers, 11 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.067 in 16 games, is another player to watch. However, it is crucial to note that many young players are still in the developmental stage, emphasizing that Lotte’s fostering philosophy and policy cannot be immediately deemed “successful.” The club’s current messy situation and its consequences resulting from wrong decisions and processes are evidence that Lotte’s present remains uncertain.
Nevertheless, undeniable evidence continues to surface, indicating that things are moving in a positive direction for the club. A comparison with the 2017 APBC competition roster clearly highlights this progress. In the inaugural APBC tournament in 2017, the preliminary list included five players: Park Se-woong, Kim Won-joong, Park Jin-hyung, Kim Yoo-young (currently with LG), and Na Gyeong-min (current Lotte coach). Ultimately, three players made it to the final list: Park Se-woong, Park Jin-hyung, and Na Gyeong-min. At the time, the pitching staff was the only area with young talent, as Na Gyeong-min, a major league pitcher, was included based on his professional experience of three years or less. This was a time when young prospects were scarce.
Lotte Baseball Club, once known for its struggles in nurturing talent, is gradually breaking away from its past. Players like Kim Min-seok and Yoon Dong-hee, currently making waves in the first team, have become representatives of Lotte’s training program. Despite the current turmoil, Lotte is steadily transforming into a club with a more promising future.
For inquiries, please contact Cho Hyeong-rae at jhrae@osen.co.kr
Kim Min-seok /OSEN DB
Yun Dong-hee / OSEN DB
[OSEN=조형래 기자] The present is a mess, but thinking about the future brings a smile to my face. It was once again confirmed that the future is bright.
On the 31st of last month, the KBO announced a preliminary list of 62 players for the Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) to be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan in November. The team consisted of 30 pitchers, 7 catchers, 17 infielders and 8 outfield players. It includes players under the age of 24 (born on or after January 1, 1999) or within 3 years of joining the pros, and 3 wild card players (born on or after January 1, 1994) does it.
Among the 62 players on the roster, Lotte is the club that accounts for the largest share of each team. Lotte is currently linked with nine players on the reserve list. Pitcher Jin Seung-hyeon, Choi Jun-yong, and Kim Jin-wook, catcher Jeong Bo-geun, Son Seong-bin, infielder Han Dong-hee, and outfielder Yoon Dong-hee, Go Seung-min, and Kim Min-seok included them. They appear to be equally selected for each position. Three of the four players included under Sangmu are Lotte players. Infielder Han Tae-yang, Na Seung-yeop, and outfielder Choo Jae-hyeon were included in the APBC preliminary list.
Currently, Lotte is in a mess as coach Larry Sutton has voluntarily resigned for health reasons. In a situation where there are many rumors regarding the command tower that will lead next season, Lotte must raise the position of the team behind her. On the 31st of last month, he won 5-2 against Hanwha and escaped his 7th consecutive defeat, but he still has a long way to go.
Lotte’s future fate is in the fog. Of course, the distant future is also unknown. However, Lotte’s future, where promising resources remain, may still have hope. 2018 (Jeong Bo-geun, Han Dong-hee, Choo Jae-hyun), 2019 (Go Seung-min), 2020 (Choi Jun-yong), 2021 (Kim Jin-wook, Son Seong-bin, Na Seung-yeop ), 2022 (Jin Seung-hyeon, Yoon Dong-hee, Han Tae-yang), and 2023 (Kim Min-seok). It is also an encouraging point.
Currently, Jin Seung-hyun, Choi Jun-yong, and Kim Jin-wook of the pitching staff are invaluable resources in the first team and are the future of Lotte Mound. Jeong Bo-geun and Son Seong-bin are hidden behind starting catcher Yoo Kang-nam, but as backup catchers, they boast talent and experience that is among the best in the league. Yoon Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok quickly established themselves as the pivot of Lotte airport in their second year and rookie season, respectively. There is no doubt that Han Dong-hee and Ko Seung-min are going through all the ups and downs this year, but they still have high potential as hitters.
The Sangmu team, which plays in the Future League and has a small sample size, is also gradually developing experience this year. Na Seung-yeop is active with a 306 batting average (79 hits in 258 at-bats), 4 homers, 49 RBIs and an OPS of .846 in 74 games in the Future League. Choo Jae-hyun also recorded a 3.19 batting average (44 hits in 138 at-bats), 4 homers, 27 RBI and an OPS of .886 in 42 games. Han Taeyang also records a 3.33 batting average (10 hits in 30 at-bats), 2 homers, 11 RBI, and an OPS of 1.067 in 16 games. Of course, there are many young players staying put. That is why you cannot immediately conclude that Lotte’s fostering philosophy and policy is ‘successful’. In addition, the messy situation of the current club and the results that follow from wrong decisions and processes are evidence that Lotte’s present is still dark and wandering.
Still, it is undeniable that evidence continues to emerge that things are moving in a positive direction. A comparison with the 2017 APBC competition roster shows this clearly. In the first APBC tournament in 2017, five players, including Park Se-woong, Kim Won-joong, Park Jin-hyung, Kim Yoo-young (currently LG) and Na Gyeong-min (current Lotte coach), were included in the preliminary list, and a total of three players were included in the final list: Park Se-woong, Park Jin-hyung, and Na Gyeong-min. Only the pitching staff had young guns, and Na Gyeong-min, a major league pitcher, was included not by age, but by professional qualification of 3 years or less. It was in the past when there were no resources of young beasts.
Park Se-woong and Park Jin-hyeong, selected for the APBC national team in 2017 /OSEN DB
Lotte, who said ‘nurture is a jewel disease’, is gradually breaking away from the past. Kim Min-seok and Yoon Dong-hee, who are currently showing results in the first team, have become Lotte Training’s representative players. In any case, Lotte is gradually transforming into a club whose future is not bleak. /jhrae@osen.co.kr
Cho Hyeong-rae (jhrae@osen.co.kr)
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