The last puzzle of the KIA left-handed kingdom has arrived in Australia… ERA 1.56 ‘Secret Weapon’
The dream of a KIA left-handed kingdom is ripening. Unexpectedly, you can be sure in Australia.
The reason why KIA selected both foreign pitchers (Sean Anderson and Adonis Medina) as right-handers this year is to achieve balance with left-handers. Last year, both foreign pitchers were lefties, but this year, native pitchers are poised to become lefties.
Local aces Yang Hyeon-jong and Lee Eui-ri are solid players in the starting lineup. In the bullpen, Lee Joon-young has endured alone, but this season, left-handed sidearm Kim Dae-yu joined Park Dong-won (LG) as a compensation player. Here, Kim Ki-hoon, the first nominee in 2020, is also showing signs of full-fledged potential. Youngcheol Yoon, a top rookie, also joined the competition for starting positions.
Kim Ki-hoon and Yoon Young-chul are expected to join the bullpen if they fail to enter the starting lineup. Their dependence on Triple J (Jeong Hae-young, Jang Hyeon-sik, and Jeon Sang-hyeon) will decrease. Kim Ki-hoon and Yoon Young-cheol are first-class rookies and have been treated well, so it is only natural that they receive attention.
There is another left-handed pitcher that should not be overlooked here. This is Choi Ji-min, who was born in 2003 and is in her second year after graduating from Gangneung High School. Choi Ji-min joined the team after receiving favorable reviews saying that his pitching mechanism and ability to manage the game could be better than Kim Jin-wook (Lotte), his one-year senior. He also has the advantage of being three quarters. 2022 2nd 1st round 5th ranking. 슬롯사이트
Apparently, last year’s rookie of the KIA, Kim Do-young, drew a lot of attention, so Ji-min Choi received relatively less attention. Choi Ji-min also pitched well in the spring camp practice game, but as his pace fell from the demonstration game, he got away from the fans. Director Kim Jong-kook even planned to take on the role of supporting Lee Joon-young, but it fell through. 13.50 ERA in 6 matches for the 1st team. In the Futures League, he stayed with an average ERA of 7.04 with 1 win, 5 losses and 6 holds.
Such Choi Ji-min has completely transformed herself at Geelong Korea, an Australian professional baseball team. He’s been featured in the first few games when he’s good, but surprisingly he maintains a good pace for a long time. He has an earned run average of 1.56 with 2 saves and 3 holds in 16 games through the 20th. He has two blown saves, but he’s pretty good.
He struck out 18 while giving up eight walks in 17⅓ innings. He had a batting average of 0.224 and a strike rate of 60.8%. Although he is mediocre, he has developed the ability to suppress long hits to the extent that he allows only one extra base hit with more than two bases. There are still ups and downs in his pitching, but he continues to deliver good pitches while minimizing runs.
There is a level gap to take his performance in Australia at face value in the KBO League. However, it is a great harvest just for Choi Ji-min to confirm his competitiveness in Australia. KIA predicted that Choi Ji-min would explode in the not-too-distant future, but it is true that I have a pleasant feeling. There are signs that the last puzzle of the left-hander kingdom will be solved in Australia.