A young giant with a batting average of 0.429, a second-year superman with a 0.370 batting average, and a backup infielder with a 33% who went to study in Australia…
Looking at KIA’s spring camp and exhibition games, the rapid progress of young players is remarkable. Born in 2000 from Hanwha, Geopo Byun Woo-hyuk has only one home run. However, he is outstanding with a batting average of 0.429 with 3 RBIs and 4 walks. It ranks first in the league in average batting average for exhibition matches.
Shaking off the stigma of ‘injury pro’, 메이저사이트he proudly aims for the first baseman in the KIA. Initially, it was classified as Plan B, supporting Hwang Dae-in, Kim Do-young, and Ryu Ji-hyeok, but looking at the spring camp and demonstration games, there is a possibility of starting the opening game.
In his second year, Doyoung Kim is showing signs of shaking off the ‘yongdusami’ of his rookie days. Unlike last year, when he hit his bat almost flat on his shoulder, this season, it is noticeable that he lowered it to the chest area to quickly bring it to the hitting point. He had a batting average of 0.370 and was the only player on the team to hit two home runs.
In addition, infielder Kim Kyu-seong (0.333), who fully opened his eyes to hitting in the Australian professional baseball Geelong Korea, is also making a big success. Park Chan-ho and Lee Chang-jin, who were unable to play the Okinawa practice game due to wrist injuries, have also returned and are poised to increase their sense of hitting in earnest.
However, it is difficult to solve a long-term race with only the momentum of young players. The role of veterans who serve as pillars remains the same. Choi Hyeong-woo, the oldest player, went to the US early and did personal training, and is improving his condition at a faster pace than usual. His median performance in exhibition games was 0.250 batting average and 1 RBI in 6 games. It’s not very noticeable, but coach Kim Jong-guk said right after returning from the Okinawa camp that he had the impression that this year’s Choi Hyung-woo was different from the previous years.
Na Seong-beom, who has suffered from a bad left calf since participating in the WBC, is also improving his condition. Na Seong-beom has yet to play a single game in the demonstration game. However, he is not seriously injured, and he has to take the right fielder as the immovable 3rd or 4th hitter this season.
The pillar of the infield is Kim Sun-bin. He is 5-for-15 with a batting average of 0.333 in 7 games, which is decent pace. He is threatened by Kim Gyu-seong, but he still has a lot to do as the starting second baseman. Kim Do-young expressed his gratitude, saying that he received a lot of help while playing catch ball with Kim Sun-bin.
Realistically, it is difficult to imagine that there are no Choi Hyeong-woo, Kim Sun-bin, and Na Seong-beom in the KIA lineup. Byun Woo-hyuk and Kim Do-young are doing well, but they are not yet verified full-time players. It is true that veterans with rich experience in long-term races need to hold the center to stabilize the lineup. Kim Sun-bin’s condition seems to be fine, and I am interested in when Choi Hyeong-woo and Na Seong-beom will return to the normal track. Because they are players with excellent coordination, they are not the players who escape the calculations of the bench.