After graduating from Bukil High School, Moon Hyun-bin (20), who was nominated in the second round (11th overall) in 2023 and wore the Hanwha uniform, is a young fielder that Hanwha fans are most looking forward to. He has basic hitting materials, good athletic ability, and strong grit.메이저놀이터
He displayed strong potential in attack last year. Despite being a high school graduate, he played in 137 games and posted a batting average of 0.266 and 114 hits. In the history of Hanwha, Moon is the only player who had more than 100 hits in his first season as a high school graduate. Although Moon still has some rough parts, he is armed with both contact and ability to send off strong pitches, and hence no one doubts that Moon will grow further in attack. He runs the base well. He has many tools.
However, he had to agonize for quite a long time in defense. When he was an amateur, Moon was mainly in the central infield (second baseman and shortstop). He played various positions as an amateur, but it is not easy to stand at three to four positions in a professional league. The value of a utility player is also very important in the Major League.
Last year, Ahn had strong tendency to fill the vacancy. As a result, he played center field, second baseman, and occasionally shortstop. Many suggested that players’ positions should be clearly determined, but traffic control is not easy. This year, he focused on the infield section and mostly played at second base. However, as Ahn Chi-hong’s playing at second base has increased since the inauguration of coach Kim Kyung-moon, Moon’s position to fill has become ambiguous.
Considering the future of the team, he is a player who has to have a seat somewhere in the lineup, but Hanwha’s infield players are not that weak, which limits the duration of his participation. He has shown unstable performance in defense, he could hardly have said. Then, what do you think about manager Kim Kyung-moon to change the team’s color in earnest starting next year? First of all, the infielders are peeking into the possibility.
Coach Kim did not clearly state Moon’s defensive position to any one of them. He may need more time to clean up the traffic. Some say that second base would be right in preparation for An Chi-hong’s aging process in the long run, but he played more than 100 innings as third base this year when Noh was the designated hitter. However, he clearly admitted that his concerns as an infielder are continuing to make progress.
Ahead of the match against Daejeon SSG on Sunday, Kim said, “When I first played for the team, I was a little nervous about throwing. However, as I played the game, I had confidence in myself. I am not worried about losing the game due to a mistake in throwing. Once or twice the ball flew to the other side, and then the players could get an Ips. Catchers have done that a lot, and some fielders do that. If that happens, then a throwing that cannot be calculated can happen next time. I am worried about that.”
However, Kim’s relief and praise are that he seems to be overstepping that level. “Fortunately, from my perspective, I think I can use enough now,” Kim said. If he finds stability in defense after going through various experiments in this year’s camp, he can expect to come up with a more systematic plan to play next year. The same applies to Ahn Chi-hong, who also plays designated hitter occasionally rather than full-time third base. There may be more room for Moon than expected.
He posted a batting average of 0.276, five homers, 46 RBIs and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 0.754 in 102 games this year, improving his OPS (0.686). Considering his tendency to play in the league this season, his OPS has significantly improved. Notably, he has displayed outstanding offense power by posting a batting average of 0.342 and an OPS of 0.883 in 31 games since August. Despite his small physique, he still has strong ability to hit long distances. Of course, he needs to improve his skills in order to secure a solid starting position, but he can expect to gain a foothold in the system from next year.