“I want to be on the starting lineup. I am an inning eater.”
The LG Twins, led by coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop, have confirmed at least 4 starters. The order of the rotation may change, but Casey Kelly-Adam Plutko, the foreigner one-two punch that won 31 wins last season, Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho, who entered the first billion won salary in their debut, are expected to support them.
However, it is still unknown who the 5th pick will be. Coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop is paying close attention to Yoo-Young Kim, who moved over from the Lotte Giants to Kang-Nam Yoo as a free agent compensation player to Hyo-Jong Kang, Chan-Gyu Lim, Ji-Kang Lee, and Dae-Hyun Kim. Also, since the Hangzhou Asian Games are also held this time during the season, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop is looking for resources for the 8th and 9th picks in the 5th pick.
Among them, there is a player who challenged the 5th selection competition. It is Kim Young-joon (25), the 2018 LG 1st designated pitcher. Kim Young-joon is one of the young-gun pitchers that LG is looking forward to. In his debut season for the first team in 2018, he played 14 games and recorded 2 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 4.35.
Later, in November 2019, he enlisted in the military to solve military problems. He was discharged in May 2021. He played in the Futures League last season as a foster player, and was converted to a full-time player in July of last year. He took the starting class step by step in the Futures League. He went 9-4 with a 4.41 ERA in 20 games.
And on October 2 of last year, he started against the NC Dinos held at the home in Jamsil, Seoul. It was the first time that Kim Young-joon climbed the mound in the first team after the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) match on October 13, 2018. At that time, Kim Young-jun recorded 4 hits, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts and no runs in 6 innings. 87 pitches. He did not record a win, but completed a quality start (three earned runs or less in six innings of starts) for the first time since his debut.
He also appeared as a starter against the Lotte Giants on the 8th, which was Lee Dae-ho’s retirement game, but he threw a headshot at Jung Bo-geun and was ejected.
Kim Young-joon is sweating heavily to spend his first-team season properly. In fact, Kim Young-joon was also able to go to the Arizona spring camp in the United States, where first-team players are, but could not go due to an ankle injury.
“I injured my ankle while exercising in Jamsil at the end of December last year,” said Kim Young-joon, who I recently met at Icheon LG Champions Park, where LG Futures players are training. Fortunately, there are no major problems. Even taping is enough to cover it. Now he’s doing running drills, catch ball and weight training as well,” he said.
Kim Yeong-joon, who continued to speak, said, “Still, my heart hurts because I couldn’t go to the spring camp. He had never been to America. I went to Taiwan in my freshman year of high school and Thailand in my sophomore and junior years. He went to Canada for the youth tournament and went to Japan after he became a pro. After that, he wanted to go to the United States this time because he couldn’t go anywhere because of the corona. But I also think about what this means.” He smiled.
In October of last year, the two valuable starting games obtained in the second half of the season are still unforgettable moments. “I really lost all the weight I had for 10 years or 1,000 years. It seems that all the frustration that was in my heart before has burst,” said Kim Young-jun, looking back. 먹튀검증
I am confident in the 5th selection competition.
He strongly said, “I am so greedy,” and then asked about his strengths, saying, “I think I am an inning. Literally metallurgical metallurgy, I think I can catch innings and pitch efficiently. They have a motto of winning within 4 pitches as much as possible. In a game, I try to win the game quickly by pulling out the batter’s bat within 4 pitches. Then, it helps to increase the innings little by little,” he said.
Since debuting on the first team stage in 2018, there has been no season to properly show something. His motivation, An Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes), became a pitcher representing the league, and Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears) was also selected for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), and his potential was recognized. Kang Baek-ho (kt Wiz) has been reborn as the best hitter in the league, and Jeong Cheol-won (Doosan) was the rookie of the year last season.
Kim Young-joon said, “I always have a desire to show off. I always want to play baseball in the first team. I went to the army, and in the first year after being discharged from the military, I played full-time in the Futures League. I think he wasn’t bad in the first team either. So there is greed. I want to show a better image this year.”
“I wish I could throw 50 innings in the first team. I want to throw only in the first team, regardless of starting or saving positions.”