Daegu High School left-hander Bae Chan-seung (18), who has been evaluated as slowing down recently, aims to turn around in the 2025 KBO rookie draft after installing new weapons.노래방알바
Before entering this season, Bae was considered one of the top three promising players in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. His speed was 133 kilometers per hour when he was a freshman, but his ball speed rose to 148 kilometers when he became a sophomore. His second-year performance was also assessed to have risen in line with his fast speed, while his second-year record was also complying with his 14 games with six wins and four losses with a 2.30 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 22 walks (18 four-body) in 46 ⅔ innings.
Although there have been rumors that there are ups and downs in control and performance, the team said it has the best growth rate and excellent development potential considering that it was only two years ago when he was a fielder and focused on pitching. As a result, he was selected as a rare second grader at the Under-18 World Baseball Organization (Baseball World Cup) last year. After the end of the season, he won the Star Award at the Future’s Star Awards hosted/organized by Star News and sponsored by the Korea Baseball Softball Association.
His performance is not good this year. He has lost two games without a win, an earned run average of 4.33, and 38 strikeouts in 27 ⅓ innings with 10 walks (nine walks and one body hit). As a result, his performance has become slightly more subtle than last year. He was also named a high school All-Star in the All-Star Game for two consecutive years, but many of the top three players have disappeared.
A scout for the KBO A team, who watched Bae Chan-seung in person at the 2nd 2024 Hanwha Eagles Cup High School and College All-Star Game held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 6th, said, “Bae Chan-seung (relatively) seemed to have fallen off. His speed came up to 152km/h, but he doesn’t feel as pressured as much. I don’t know if it’s a problem with the pitching repertoire, but the pattern was on one side, so the batters didn’t seem to be afraid.”
Bae took the mound as the seventh pitcher of the high school All-Star and finished the inning without losing a point with 13 balls, allowing only one hit without a walk and strikeout in one inning. Prior to the competition, scouts from 10 KBO clubs delivered a commemorative message to the player directly, which included individual messages for each participant, and Bae Chan-seung said, “All-star for two consecutive years. Aggressive and strong desire to win.”
Bae Chan-seung of Daegu High School speaks after winning the baseball star award at the 2023 Futures Star Awards hosted by the global sports and entertainment content media Star News held at Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 28th. /Photo = Reporter Kim Chang-hyun
As expected, Bae did not hesitate to play against college players three to four years older than him and continued his hand-to-hand fight. Notably, as a fielder himself, his defense stood out. Lee Jong-gun (Kunkook University), whose strength is contact and quick focus, attempted a bunt hit with one out and a runner on first base. The first base was empty due to the ball going somewhat vaguely, and Bae caught the ball himself and ran to the first base to tag out Lee. Jung Young-woong (Won Gwangdae) also caught the ball slowly moving toward the shortstop, threw it to the first base quickly, and ended the inning.
Bae Chan-seung, whom I met after the tournament, said, “Our school values PFP (Pitchers Fielding Practice), so I did my best in the game,” adding, “Last year, I walked so many times that I wanted to show a play that I threw as many strikes as possible without giving a walk, and then caught a batter, but I feel good because it went well today (6th).”
This year, Bae is attempting various changes under the guidance of Park Myung-hwan (47), the new pitching coach at Daegu High School. He is attempting to double-kicker, and is seeking to diversify his pitching repertoire by installing two-seam fastballs and cutters as new weapons. Until last year, Bae had been a pitcher whose strength is fastball and slider.
“Coach Park Myung-hwan told me to try double-kicking, but since it hasn’t been long since I started practicing, I will practice a little more and supplement it. Two-seam fastballs and cutters are also the most advanced types of balls this year. However, I only threw fastballs and sliders to show the balls I am confident in today (June 6),” Bae said.
The scout for the KBO B team highly appreciated Bae’s improvement. Despite the public assessment that he was behind, he still viewed him as a first-round pick. A scout for the B team said, “Bae Chan-seung has remained the same. He has been throwing well and healthy. No matter how bad his skills are, he is a left-hander who throws 152 km per hour. He believes that he will be selected no matter what within the first round. However, players like Jung Woo-joo and Jung Hyun-woo have shown considerable growth.”
“Bae Chan-seung is a very sincere and smart player. He also enjoys the idea of installing a cutter and a two-seam fastball. Watching him prepare now, he seems to be already preparing for his performance on the professional stage, not at the high school level. The results are not bad either. The cutter already comes up to 140 kilometers per hour, and with the advice of his seniors and coaches, I think he will use it well to distinguish it from his slider,” he praised.
In fact, in Bae Chan-seung’s interview, rather than being greedy ahead of unrealistic goals or rookie drafts, the attitude of preparing calmly according to the current situation was remarkable. Bae Chan-seung said, “Since the speed limit has already been 152km, I’m going to use a lot of balls in the middle and second half of 140km to catch the batter, focusing on the control, rather than raising the speed limit further,” adding, “Our school does not have a competition for a while, but if we do well in the weekend league and go to the phoenix, I will try to win the team then.”