2022 Rookie Draft 1st nomination ‘Super Prospect’ Lee Min-seok (Lotte Giants) left the front line due to an elbow injury, while Choi Jun-yong, who harvested ‘20 Holds’ and competed for ‘Rookie King’, will someday be 1 Can I return to the military?
Lotte finished the season in 8th place in the regular season with 64 wins, 4 draws and 76 losses last year. This is because their 1 year of activity was not just 1 year of ‘sparkling’.
They showed good looks for two years from the 2021 season and showed their own ‘steadiness’. As the saying goes, the feeling of hitting is ‘unbelievable’, there are ups and downs, and each day is so different, but pitching power is a different story. However, it was after the 2022 season that concerns about Pil Seung-jo, who had not been greatly concerned, began to arise.
Kim Do-gyu, who appeared like a comet in the 2021 season and pitched in 98 games for two years and recorded 6 wins, 5 losses, 13 holds and 3 saves, underwent surgery to remove bone fragments in the elbow after the 2022 season ended. Fortunately, however, Kim Do-kyu recovered his health and joined the spring camp to prepare for the season, and recorded an ERA of 5.40 with 2 holds by digesting 5 innings in 6 demonstration games. He wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t the worst either.
The unexpected variable was Choi Jun-yong. Choi Jun-yong competed for the Rookie of the Year by harvesting ’20 Holds’ in 2021, and in April 2022, he showed outstanding appearances over the past two years, such as filling the void of ‘Finish’ Kim Won-jung, and became the core of Lotte’s ‘Pil Seung-jo’. . And again this year, he seemed to be raising his condition to the peak before the opening of the regular season by spraying a fast ball over 150km at the end of the demonstration game.
Obviously, there was nothing wrong with the speed, but I couldn’t find a pitch that Choi Jun-yong hit with the power of ‘If you want to hit it, hit it’. As a result, Choi Jun-yong struggled with 7 runs (6 ERA) and 1 loss with an average ERA of 13.50 in 4 innings in 5 demonstration games, and he had to start the regular season in the 2nd team instead of the 1st team.
Lotte was planning to fill the void left by Choi Jun-yong with Lee Min-seok. However, even this had a variable. Lee Min-seok grabbed his elbow and voluntarily went down the mound while pitching the 9th inning in the opening game against the Doosan Bears on the 1st. Lee Min-seok’s first MRI scan revealed that his right elbow was in poor condition. Therefore, Lee Min-seok plans to undergo a second checkup at a hospital in Seoul soon.
The depth of Lotte’s bullpen, which has been shallow due to Choi Jun-yong’s hiatus, has become even looser with the departure of Lee Min-seok, and there are not enough players who can play the role of a ‘bridge’ connecting the starting line and the bullpen. If so, what will be the timing and criteria for Choi Jun-yong, who is staying in the 2nd team, to be called up to the 1st team?
Coach Larry Sutton mentioned ‘consistency’ ahead of the Incheon SSG Landers game on the 4th. The command tower said, “I want to say the word ‘steadiness'” and “Choi Jun-yong has to show a good figure by fighting two consecutive games.” In the end, in order for Choi Jun-yong to return to the mound for the 1st team, he must ‘prove’ that he is ready to play for the 1st team in the 2nd team. 토토사이트
Coach Sutton said, “Obviously, Jun-yong Choi has grown and has shown progress in his career. However, at the time of dropping Choi Jun-yong to the 2nd team, it was too much for him to throw two games in a row,” Sutton said. If I show myself, I think it will fit the definition of ‘I’m ready’.”
It is the worst situation without Choi Jun-yong and Lee Min-seok, but Lotte plans to entrust various players with the role of ‘bridge’ for the time being. The command tower said, “In the absence of Lee Min-seok, other players will have a chance. I think that the players who have received the opportunity are at the stage to step up. We will think about the player and give him a chance.”