Hanwha Moon Dong-ju, Doosan Kim Dong-joo’Perfect Fight’
Leading the recent team victory and leading the way,
anticipating counterattacks by ‘pure rookies’ such as Yoon Yeong-
cheol Starting with Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) in 2017, Kang Baek-ho (KT) in 2018, Jung Woo-young (LG) in 2019, and So Joon So-jun in 2020 (KT), until 2021 Lee Eui-ri (KIA). These are players who won the KBO League Rookie Award as pure rookies who graduated from high school. From Hyung-Woo Choi in 2008 to Jae-Young Shin in 2016, the trend in which junior and senior rookies monopolized the rookie award for 9 consecutive years has changed to pure rookies gaining the upper hand for 5 consecutive years. But last year, Jung Cheol-won (Doosan), a rookie of the year, won the rookie award again, drawing attention to who will win the rookie award in the 2023 season.
Pure rookies including Kim Seo-hyun (19, Hanwha) and Yoon Young-cheol (19, KIA), who were first and second overall in the rookie draft, received a lot of attention from the spring camp, but when the KBO league was opened, it seemed that rookies were leading the way. 메이저사이트
Among them, the most notable player is, of course, Hanwha Moon Dong-ju (20). Moon Dong-ju, the first nominee for Hanwha in 2022, digested only 28.2 innings last year and maintained his rookie status of ‘less than 30 innings’. Moon Dong-ju, who started in an away game against Samsung on the 6th, reported his first victory of the season with a fast ball that recorded a maximum speed of 159 km and a curve polished last winter with 5 innings, 1 hit and no run. His pitching was also a passing point, as he did not give up any walks while striking out four.
In the last World Baseball Classic (WBC), it was pointed out as a problem that while there were many pitchers who threw a ball at 160 km per hour in the United States and Japan, there were no pitchers in Korea. If Moon Dong-ju develops to the current generation, he will be able to possess a power feature that can be proudly presented on the international stage.
There is another ‘Dongju’ in Doosan. It is pitcher Kim Dong-ju (21) who has the same name as Doosan legend Kim Dong-ju. Kim Dong-ju, who was nominated for the second round of 2021, raised expectations with a fast ball reaching 150 km per hour. However, in 2021, there was no first-team pitching itself, and last year, with an average ERA of 7.56 in 16.2 innings, he was unable to adapt to the pros.
Kim Dong-joo, who started in the home game against NC on the 6th with new head coach Lee Seung-yeop’s 5th starter, threw a fast ball at mid-140 km/h, a slider, curveball, and splitter, and recorded a quality start with 7 hits, 7 strikeouts and 1 walk in 6 innings. He led the team to a 6-2 victory.
Kang Hyo-jong (21), LG’s first designated player in 2021, also started in the Kiwoom match on the 6th and reported his first win in 5 innings, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks and no runs with a fast ball exceeding 150 km per hour.
On the other hand, Yoon Young-cheol is scheduled to make his first appearance as a starter in the Kiwoom match on the 15th. Kim Seo-hyun, who stands out with her fastball in the latter half of 150 km, is waiting for a call-up to the first team while refining her pitches in the Futures League. While middle-aged and old rookies are one step ahead, it is expected that the fun of watching this year’s KBO League will increase depending on how pure rookies counterattack.