3R Lotte ‘Two-hitter’ Jeon Mir…1R 10 out of 10 selected SSG’s Ji-hwan Park, a beast
‘Red Tomah’ Lee Byung-kyu’s son Lee Seung-min went to SSG in 2R…110 picks until the 11th round
Reporter Kwon Hyuk-jun = ‘High school’s biggest name’ left-handed pitcher Hwang Jun-seo (18-Jang Chung-go) will wear a Hanwha Eagles uniform as the No. 1 overall pick in the KBO First-Year Player Draft.
Hanwha selected Hwang Jun-seo with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft on Thursday at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.
Hwang is a 6-foot-2, 187-pound left-hander who went 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 15 games and 49⅔ innings pitched in high school baseball this year.
As a sophomore last year, Hwang was already expected to be one of the biggest names in the draft along with Jang Hyun-seok (Yongmago), but when Jang signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after declaring his intentions to play in the U.S., Hwang emerged as the No. 1 candidate, and as expected, was called up first.
A left-handed fireballer with a fastball that tops out at 150 mph, Hwang recently represented Korea at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U18 Baseball World Cup, going 1-2 with a 3.97 ERA in three games (12⅓ innings).
“He’s a pitcher that scouts have been recommending all year. I think he’s the pitcher everyone wants,” he said, adding, “I chose him because he’s a pitcher who will get better in the future.”
On the podium, Hwang Jun-seo said, “I still can’t believe it and my hands and feet are shaking.” “I’m grateful to my parents for taking good care of me for eight years. I will always do my best and try to be the player the team needs.”
With the signing, Hanwha completed its most expensive pitching signings in the last three years. Hanwha selected Moon Dong-ju with the first overall pick in 2021, Park Joon-young with the second overall pick, and Kim Seo-hyun with the first overall pick in last year’s draft, which switched to a full draft.
This year’s draft also saw them add Hwang Jun-seo, the top left-handed pitcher in the draft, to give them some left-right balance.
With the second overall pick after Hanwha, the Doosan Bears selected Kim Taek-yeon (Incheon High School).
Kim appeared in 13 high school league games this year, pitching 64⅓ innings and posting a 7-1 record with a 1.13 ERA. With a fastball that tops out at nearly 150 kilometers per hour and good command of his pitches, he is considered to be an “instant power” bullpen arm.
He was the “national ace” at the recently concluded U18 Baseball World Cup. Although he came under fire for throwing 247 pitches in eight days for five consecutive games, he proved his mettle by pitching Korea to a bronze medal.
Doosan has already prepared jerseys with Kim’s name on them and is excited about the prospect.
“We’ve seen a lot of players, but we appreciated his consistency,” said Kim Tae-ryong, head coach of Doosan.
“I’m honored to be selected by the team I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” says Kim. “I still have a lot to learn, but I’ll do my best to grow up and throw the ball on the Jamsil mound as soon as possible.”
With the third pick, the Lotte Giants selected Jeon Mir (Gyeongbuk High School), who has the potential to be a two-hitter.
The Samsung Lions selected Jangchung High pitcher Yuk Sun-yeop with the fourth pick of the first round, and the NC Dinos selected Whimun High pitcher Kim Hwi-geon with the fifth pick.
With the sixth pick in the first round, the KIA Tigers selected Gangneung High pitcher Cho Dae-hyun, and with the seventh pick, KT Wiz selected Busan High pitcher Won Sang-hyun.
The Kiwoom Heroes selected Seoul High pitcher Jeon Jun-pyo with the eighth pick in the first round, acquired in a trade with the LG Twins. With their original ninth-round pick, they selected Jangchungo Kim Yoon-ha.
Last year’s champions, SSG Landers, selected SeAd shortstop Park Ji-hwan. He was the only one of the 10 players called in the first round.
The draft went to 11 rounds in total, with all 10 teams exercising their draft rights, and 110 of the 1083 players drafted were called up by professional teams. Of those, Kiwoom acquired the most rookies, 14, through trades and other means.먹튀검증
With the 20th pick in the second round, SSG selected outfielder Lee Seung-min of the Whimun Go. Lee is best known as the eldest son of Samsung’s head coach Lee Byung-gyu, a legendary KBO hitter.
For the second year in a row, players who made a name for themselves on the TV entertainment program “Strongest Baseball” were also drafted by professional teams.
Lotte selected Songwon University pitcher Jung Hyun-soo with the 13th pick in the second round, Hanwha selected former Chung-Ang University pitcher Hwang Young-mook with the 31st pick in the fourth round, and Kiwoom selected Sungkyunkwan University infielder Ko Young-woo with the 39th pick in the fourth round.
With the 38th overall pick in the fourth round, LG selected Jin Woo-young, a pitcher who turned to Korea after playing for the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball.