Left Seung-hyun and Lee Ho-sung are showing good performance. I think they have been compressed into two players.”
Park Jin-man, the last five starters looking for the Samsung Lions, is narrowing the candidates little by little. Among the first candidates Choi Chae-heung, Hwang Dong-jae, Lee Ho-sung, and left-hander Lee Seung-hyun, Lee Ho-sung and Lee Seung-hyun remain.핑크알바
Coach Park Jin-man, who is looking for one person to form a starting team with Conor Seabold, Denny Reyes, Won Tae-in and Baek Jung-hyun, said on the 21st, “Jwa Seung-hyun and Lee Ho-sung are showing good performance. We will decide it before or through exhibition games, but I think it has been compressed into Lee Ho-sung and Lee Seung-hyun now.”
Lee Ho-sung and Lee Seung-hyun are doing well in an ongoing practice match against the Japanese team.
Lee Seung-hyun, who is seeking to start in the bullpen ahead of this season, allowed one hit, two strikeouts, three walks and three runs in 2.1 innings against the Nippon Ham Fighters on the 12th, and three hits, one walk and two runs in three innings against the Yomiuri Giants on the 18th. The maximum speed was recorded up to 147 kilometers in the Yomiuri match.
Lee Seung-hyun said, “It was nice to be able to throw my ball,” adding, “Even if I get hit, I didn’t throw the ball. If you throw a fastball during a disadvantageous count, doesn’t the opposing batters hit it? At that time, I practiced a lot about throwing a cutter or how to hold the count by other methods, and I think we worked well.”
Lee Ho-seong is also displaying bold pitching performance. At his first start at a practice game against the Chiba Lotte Giants on Wednesday, he allowed three hits, two walks, one strikeout and one run in two innings, and three hits (one homer) and two strikeouts in three innings against the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday, raising the possibility that he could become a fifth starter. The maximum speed at the match against the Hanshin Tigers was 145 kilometers.
Lee Ho-sung said, “I felt like my balance was better than the last game. My pace is also coming up little by little.”
Choi Chae-heung and Hwang Dong-jae went down to Futures Camp, not the first team, as the two players became finalists.
The pitch was unfortunate. Hwang started in the match against the Chunichi Dragons on Wednesday, and allowed two hits, four walks and five runs in one inning, and two runs in four outs and one hit in one inning against the Nippon-Ham Fighters on Wednesday. Notably, he had a serious control over the game, allowing three hit balls.
Choi took the mound as the second pitcher in all games in which Hwang Dong-jae started. He showed poor performance by allowing four hits, four outs and four strikeouts, and four runs (two earned) in two innings in the match against Chunichi, and six hits (one homer) in two innings in the match against Nippon Ham. Eventually, he was forced to move to the second division.
“Hwang’s speed is up, but he needs to have control to support his speed,” coach Park Jin-man said. “He needs to prepare more at Futures,” adding, “Choi needs to have more speed with his ball. As the speed does not increase, breaking balls are also dull. When I went to Futures, I talked about what I should prepare. I need to increase my speed to select players. I hope both players will be able to reorganize themselves well.”
Of course, moving to Futures doesn’t mean you won’t get a chance. “We need to see what’s going on, but if one player enters the fifth starting position, the remaining two players will be classified as starting players for 6th and 7th, and will continue to take starting classes at Futures,” coach Park Jin-man said at the beginning of the camp. As he builds up his body at Futures, he can seize the opportunity when he has the opportunity.
For now, the nominees have been narrowed down to Lee Seung-hyun and Lee Ho-sung. Who will be the final winner of the five-selection audition.
Meanwhile, Samsung will take a day off instead of Wednesday’s training session. Samsung will play a practice game against Nippon Ham on Wednesday, take a break from Friday to Sunday, and play a practice game with the Korean team starting with the Hanwha Eagles on Wednesday.