Left-hander Pil Seung-jo, who took off the tag of ‘Na Seong-beom compensation’, recovers the ‘fastball’ this year
Lefty Ha Jun-young (24), who took off the tag of “FA (free agent) compensation player” and became a member of the NC Dinos bullpen, is also having a good second spring camp.
Ha Jun-young pitched in the bullpen on the 3rd turn of the 3rd training session of the NC 1st team spring camp (CAMP 2), which was recently held in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Ha Jun-young, who pitched for the 4th time in this camp, threw the ball with about 80-90% intensity. He threw a total of 30 pitches and recorded a top speed of 140 km/h. Considering that it is still in the early stages of training, this is not a bad performance.
Ha Jun-young said through the club, “It is before pitching 100%, but the restraint is good and the content seems to be good.”
Ha Jun-young, who transferred to NC as a compensation player for Na Seong-beom (34), who transferred to KIA through FA at the end of 2021, was dominated by the evaluation of’high risk, high return’ at the time of recruitment. After undergoing left elbow surgery in May 2020, he returned only in the summer of the following year, and even that was stopped after three games. 메이저놀이터
There were concerns, but NC nominated Ha Jun-young, saying, “We have expectations of recovering the previous position.” Coming up to the first team in late April after his rehabilitation, he faltered somewhat with an earned run average of 24.55 in his first five games.
However, after that, Ha Joon-young quickly settled in the bullpen, scoring 16 consecutive games without a loss. As his pitching improved, he began to show the image of 2019 (6 wins, 2 losses, 15 holds, 4.96 ERA). In 42 games since his sixth appearance, his earned run average was 2.55, the lowest among team bullpen players who pitched 30 or more innings in the same period after Lee Yong-chan (2.25).
A greater income is confidence in your physical condition. Ha Jun-young said, “As he played the 2022 season, his anxiety about his injury disappeared, and he gained confidence because he was not sick.” The fact that he went through a season without major problems was a huge asset in itself.
Compared to last year, the mindset of entering the camp is different. Ha Jun-young said, “If last year’s camp started at 0, this year we started camp at around 7-8.” Pitching coach Kim Soo-kyung also explained, “Ha Jun-young went to camp last year while recovering. This year, he is free from the burden of the injured part and is going to camp on the right track.”
Coach Kim said, “I’m looking for my old speed as I start pitching,” and “I expect to show a little better this year.”
Ha Jun-young expressed his determination, saying, “After the injury, my speed did not come up quickly, so I pitched mainly with breaking balls, but this year I want to regain my speed and give the feeling of overpowering batters with a fastball.” Ha Jun-young’s fastball velocity, which was 144.0 km per hour on average in 2019, was 141.4 km last year. (Based on baseball statistics website Statties)
In the second half, Ha Jun-young showed hope by showing an average speed of 142 km in each game. To what extent will the speed recover this year?