Hwang Joon-seo, who joined the 2024 Rookie Draft after graduating from Jangchung High School, made his debut as a starter at the KT Wiz match on the 31st of last month. His maximum speed was 149 kilometers per hour, and he properly mixed his main weapon, folk balls. The batters exploded early on, and Hwang became the winning pitcher with three hits (one home run) and two strikeouts and one run in five innings.노래방알바
Hwang Joon-seo is the 10th Korean baseball player to become the winning pitcher after starting pitcher for a high school graduate. He is the first Hanwha Eagles member since Ryu Hyun-jin in 2006.
Hwang Joon-seo took his first professional step, but he was not guaranteed a place in the first team.
This season, Hwang Joon-seo competed with Kim Min-woo for the fifth start. Both Kim Min-woo and Hwang Joon-seo showed what can be expected in the first team. The club gave Kim Min-woo, who had 14 wins in 2021, a chance.
Kim Min-woo once again showed his “old appearance” by allowing no runs in five innings with two hits, three walks and six strikeouts against SSG Landers on the 26th of last month, his first appearance of the season.
Hwang Joon-seo, who failed to make the opening entry and prepared for the season in the Futures League, made the first team faster than expected. Kim Min-woo needed rest as he had a back wall. Hwang clearly appealed to his strengths.
Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho expressed a rather complicated mind to Hwang Joon-seo’s good pitching. Foreign players seem not to welcome him to the sixth starting system. They do not prefer to take the mound every week because there are provisions such as innings options.
The team’s starting pitching staff is stabilizing, so there was no need to worry about it. “I think I have to think about it first. There could be a doubleheader over the weekend, so we have to prepare for the preliminary start. Hwang is the starting pitcher. It’s not that I’m in a really urgent situation. I think I have to take a long look and think about it,” Choi said of Hwang’s appointment.
As Hwang served as an “alternative starter” and has to prepare as a starter in the future, he is expected to move back to the Futures League. However, Hwang is still on the first team entry list.
Choi has decided to accompany Hwang Joon-seo in the first team until the game against Kiwoom Heroes in Gocheok on the 7th. Kim Min-woo’s physical condition should be checked additionally, and he will use it as an opportunity to see if he can be of help in the relief pitcher lineup, which has been shaken recently.
Choi said, “Hwang plans to accompany Kim until he confirms his pitching performance in the first division on Sunday. Since he threw on Sunday, he will recover until Friday, and if he has a chance to pitch in the bullpen on Saturday and Sunday, he will see him throw in the bullpen once. After that, I will decide after checking Kim’s recovery.”
Meanwhile, Hanwha predicted Moon Dong-ju as its starting pitcher on Thursday with the match against the Lotte Giants cancelled due to rain. If it didn’t rain, it was Ryu’s turn on Thursday. As Ryu asked for a day off, he no longer needed to change the starting order. “I met with Ryu and heard that he wanted to take another day off, so I decided to postpone the rotation by one day,” Choi said. Moon will leave tomorrow (April 4), and Ryu will play in the first game of Gocheok. Sanchez also said he would throw about 100 pitches on the 2nd and ask his doctor if he would like to take another day off, and he said he would leave after the 6th day off.”
However, as for Moon Dong-joo, who will be in the rotation as the first starter, he said, “I have no choice but to face the first starter. If it rains again, it will change, and Moon will overcome it well.”