“We were unbeatable in the second inning.”
“We were unbeatable in the second inning.”
The Lotte Giants’ first-team pitching staff hasn’t changed much from spring training to exhibition games. The first-round picks have been competing for spots until the end of spring training. Barring any major issues, the opening day roster will be decided from the current first-team pitching staff.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung has been satisfied with his pitching staff since spring training. Despite a disappointing performance in a 2-8 loss to Sasik Hanwha in an exhibition game on April 16, giving up six runs on 17 hits and two walks, Lotte’s pitching staff has been producing results to his satisfaction.
Little change between the first and second teams. While it’s possible to try out different young pitchers in exhibition games, it’s also important to get the guys who need to be utilized in the first team right away healthy and see how they’re doing. Right now, Lotte is doing a final check on the pitchers they need to pitch in the first team. Some of these pitchers are expected to be cut from the opening day roster.
Most of the roster is set.
The four starting spots (Aaron Wilkerson, Charlie Barnes, Park Se-woong, and Na Gyun-an) and the five relievers (Kim Won-joong, Koo Seung-min, Kim Sang-soo, Choi Jun-yong, and Park Jin-hyung) have already been finalized. The remaining players need to decide who will fill the five starting spots competed for by Lee In-bok and Han Hyun-hee, as well as the left-handed one-point relief and long relief roles in the bullpen. The rest of the players will now be sent down to the second team.
Now, Lotte is not a team that needs to look to the future, so they are sticking with what they have. The internal assessment that the first-team pitching staff was good meant that second-team players would have fewer opportunities for first-team call-ups for the time being.
“It’s not easy to move up because the first team pitching staff is so good. Not all of the first-team pitchers have made it down to the second team yet.” 스포츠토토 The consensus within the second team is, “It’s hard to move up. That means the competition is tougher and the threshold for first-team pitchers is higher. That doesn’t mean that the secondary pitching staff is losing hope. The second-team pitching staff is getting stronger, and they are always ready because they don’t know when and how their chance will come.
One such pitcher is 23-year-old left-hander Jeong Hyun-soo
He graduated from Songwon University and was selected in the second round of this year’s rookie draft. Jeong was a more famous pitcher before he was drafted. He made a name for himself as a member of the Monsters in the baseball entertainment program “Strongest Baseball. His name was more recognizable to the general public than other rookies. The halo effect of the show was huge. Of course, he was also very good. He pitched well in the second team practice games. “He’s invincible in the second team,” was how club officials characterized him.
There was no justification for him to move up to the first team. However, Choi Joon-yong, who was supposed to be a fill-in, was selected for the national team’s tryout before the MLB World Tour’s opening series in Seoul. There was an opening in the first team, and Jeong Hyun-soo, currently the best-rated player on the second team, got the call-up.
A valuable first-team opportunity. But Jeong failed to impress. Even in a trial game, the barriers to the first team were high. On the 16th, against Sasik Hanwha, Jeong took the mound as the team’s third pitcher in the top of the fifth inning, trailing 2-5. The showcase was against Hanwha’s left-handed batting lineup of Choi In-ho, Ha Ju-seok, and Lim Jong-chan. The crowd erupted in applause as Jeong took the mound.
It was clear that Choi Kang Baseball was loved by many fans.
However, the halo effect of Choi’s game and the fans’ applause and encouragement did not help Jung’s test.Jung faced the leadoff hitter, Choi In-ho, who hit a deep 3-2 pitch and allowed an infield single to shortstop. He induced Ha Joo-seok to ground out to shortstop but couldn’t prevent the runner from advancing to second. Operation Andron was on. But the quality of the pitches he was getting were not good. He gave up a huge double to Lim Jong-chan in left-center field. Then, he gave up a straight ball to right-hander Park Sang-un, putting runners on first and second. Jeong’s first-team showcase was very short-lived.
Park Jin-jin, who took over for Jeong, gave up a single to Lee Do-yoon and a pushing double to Jeong Eun-won. An additional run was allowed. Two hits, one walk, and two runs in ⅓ innings ended his hard-earned first-team mound opportunity.
Pros have to prove themselves on the field. You can’t rely on name value and the popularity of a certain TV program. Of course, Jeong gave it his all and proved why he was called up from the second team to the first, but it was a reminder that the barriers to the professional stage are high. There”s no longer a fence that separates the best from the rest.