The 2024 KBO Rookie Draft,먹튀검증 which will be held on the 14th of next month, is now one month away. Super high school level pitcher Jang Hyun-seok (19, Masan Yongmago), who was likely to be the first overall pick, signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers with a down payment of $900,000 and started to challenge the US Major League. attention is drawn.
Hanwha, who has the right to pick overall, is likely to nominate Hwang Jun-seo (18), a lefty from Jangchung High School. Hwang Jun-seo, who stood out early enough to be selected for the youth national team last year when he was a sophomore, drew a rivalry with Jang Hyun-seok. Even without a fastball like Jang Hyeon-seok, who threw up to 156 km, his potential was recognized for his soft throwing form, balance, and stable control as a left-hander.
He was thin at 187 cm and 75 kg, but he increased his weight by 5 kg this year and threw up to 150 km at his highest speed. Although Jang Hyun-seok went to the United States, the reason why Hanhwa did not feel much regret was because there was a clear alternative, Hwang Jun-seo.
If Jang Hyun-seok remained in Korea, he would have been picked by Hanwha, and Hwang Jun-seo was likely to go to Doosan, which had the second-choice nomination. Some say that Doosan was the team that suffered the most loss due to Jang Hyun-seok’s trip to the United States, but these days, that story has been incorporated. Incheon High School Kim Taek-yeon (18) has rapidly grown as the biggest right-hander and has emerged as the second leading candidate.
Kim Taek-yeon, who is 184cm tall and 88kg tall, is recording 7 wins, 1 loss, 1.13 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 13 high school games this year. His control is good enough that in 64⅓ innings he strikes out 97 and walks only 10 (9 walks and 1 walk).
Kim Taek-yeon, who recently led Incheon High School to the finals in the Presidential Cup, is showing off his ability to digest long innings as a starting pitcher by throwing heavy fastballs of up to 150 km even after 100 pitches. As the possibility of nomination for the 2nd place Doosan has become strong, fans are already calling him ‘Doo Taek-yeon’.
Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop is also well aware of Kim Taek-yeon’s existence. Ahead of the game against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 13th, coach Lee Seung-yeop said, “We are talking well about the scout team and rookie nominations. I think we will be able to select good players who will fill the gaps in our team,” he said. That’s good,” he said, smiling.
Director Lee Seung-yeop continued, “Since we are not number one, we don’t know what will happen. (1st priority) We have to see who Hanwha will pick first.” While Kim Taek-yeon’s momentum is very good, Hwang Jun-seo has been somewhat stagnant lately.
The possibility of skipping Hwang Jun-seo is extremely low due to the composition of the Hanwha mound, which lacks left-handed pitchers, but the gap between the 1st and 2nd ranks is gradually narrowing. It’s worth watching to see what changes will happen in the month left until the draft. Hwang Jun-seo and Kim Taek-yeon will also participate in the World Youth Baseball Championships to be held in Taiwan from the 1st to the 10th of next month. I wonder how the two pitchers will perform at the final evaluation stage before the draft.