Recently, there has been a tectonic change in the Kiwoom lineup. This is due to the season out of Ronnie Dawson (29), who used to be the ace setter. The potential of rookie players is being rediscovered in the process of experimental relocation of the team’s batters. At the center are Won Seong-joon (24) and Ko Young-woo (23), who were originally from JTBC’s “strongest baseball.”메이저사이트
Won Sung-joon and Ko Young-woo, two seniors and juniors at Sungkyunkwan University, made their faces known first through the “strongest baseball” before their professional debuts. After failing to join the professional league in high school and going to college, they challenged their dreams again last year as members of the “strongest monsters.” As a result, Won Sung-joon was selected as Kiwoom’s nurturing player in 2023, and Ko Young-woo was selected by Kiwoom as the 39th overall in the fourth round of the 2024 season’s rookie draft. Although the timing and method were different, both players were given the opportunity to wear Kiwoom uniforms and perform as professional players.
Ko joined the spring camp for the first team before the opening of the season and was also listed in the opening entry. He displayed impressive performance that was not like a rookie player until late due to stable infield defense and contact ability. Ko has never played in the second division since the opening of this season. He played mostly as a pinch hitter and a pinch hitter in the early days of this season, but is gradually solidifying his position as a starting player.
Ko Young-woo has been steadily in the starting lineup since August. As the number of pars increased, the batting average in August was sluggish at 0.208. Meanwhile, Ko Young-woo contributed to the team’s victory by scoring the first run with a heavy hit in the top of the first inning against Hanwha on the 11th. Kiwoom, which started with Ko Young-woo’s hit, won 7-3 by scoring consecutive times in the first, second, and third innings.
Starting as a nurturing player, Won Sung-joon, who started late, has recently become a scoring resource. After training in the Futures League, Won Sung-joon was not called up to the first team until June. Won Sung-joon, who had a batting average of 0.176 in July and went back to the second division, hit a home run as if he had been waiting as soon as he was on the first team list again on the 11th. Won Sung-joon, who was the first batter in the top of the third inning against Hanwha, hit a slow slider from Hanwha Jaime Barria that came into the middle of the strike zone to hit it over the right fence. It was his second home run in two months since his first home run against Samsung in June, right after his debut in the first division. Won Sung-joon was very active, with three hits and one walk from four times at bat.
Following Dawson’s injury, Kiwoom has missed five consecutive games due to biliary tract symptoms including Kim Hye-sung, and is currently suffering from difficulties in fielding. Despite this, rookies such as Ko Young-woo and Won Sung-joon were able to achieve the winning series against Hanwha. This is why Kiwoom’s “young blood” is scary.