Attention is focused on whether the Lotte Giants will write another success story of pitcher conversion like Na Kyun-an (25).
In Lotte, there are not a few players who turned into pitchers, such as catchers Na Won-tak (29) and Kim Kang-hyeon (28), as well as Kim Dong-gyu (24) and Park Young-wan (23). Among them, Kim Kang-hyeon, Kim Dong-gyu, and Park Young-wan are aiming to start in the first team. Lotte is also looking forward to the possibility of Kim Dong-gyu and Park Young-wan, who will join after completing their military service this year. Park Young-wan, a former outfielder, was discharged on the 18th and is working hard to improve his ability to use speed and breaking balls. Kim Dong-gyu, who is about to be discharged at the end of July, is recognized for his potential by throwing a fastball of 140 km per hour.
Na Kyun-an is expected to be a new milestone for them. Initially, he was a catcher prospect who Lotte wrote the 2nd 1st round pick in the 2017 rookie draft. After Kang Min-ho (38) moved to the Samsung Lions in 2018, he started to take charge of the homeroom, but the environment for Na Kyun-an was not created. There was no veteran catcher to help him grow, and it was not an atmosphere to persevere until the prospect matured. The burden was solely on Na Kyun-an. 메이저사이트
Na Kyun-an hit a turning point during the 2020 spring camp. After returning home midway due to a broken bone in his left wrist, Kyun-an Na was invited by Lotte general manager Seong Min-gyu (41) to “wouldn’t you like to throw a ball?” His hitting drills were difficult, but he could pitch with his right hand. Lotte saw great potential as a starting pitcher in Na Kyun-ahn, who has a strong shoulder and the ability to use breaking pitches.
Three years was enough to become a decent first-team starter. Na Gyun-an played 39 games regardless of position last year, recording 3 wins, 8 losses and 2 holds, an ERA of 3.98, and a WHIP per inning of 1.38. Among them, he played an active role with an ERA of 4.16 and a WHIP of 1.35 in 13 starts. Na Kyun-an took on dirty work throughout the first half, but Lotte coach Larry Sutton only appointed him as a starting pitcher from the second half. And then his goals got even bigger. He said, “I want to fill the regular innings as a starting pitcher,” and “regular innings will be the first dream of every starting pitcher.”
Na Kyun-ahn became a billionaire in four years after turning to pitching. Lotte announced on the 30th that Na Kyun-ahn signed a contract for an annual salary of 109 million won, up 87.9% from last year’s 58 million won. Among Lotte’s 60 candidates for annual salary contracts this year, only two players are Na Kyun-an and Lee In-bok (32) in the hundreds of millions of won range.