The rookie players for the 2024 season who will wear the uniform of the professional baseball Lotte Giants and play at Sajik Stadium in Busan will be decided on the 14th. Lotte’s strategy is to immediately select talented players and future resources based on data on players participating in the draft accumulated over a long period of time.메이저사이트
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will hold the 2024 KBO League rookie draft at the Westin Chosun Seoul Grand Ballroom on the 14th. A total of 1,083 people, including high school and college graduates as well as amateur players, will participate in this draft, and up to 110 will wear the uniform of a professional baseball team.
Lotte will be the third player to select a first-round player in today’s draft, following the Hanwha Eagles and Doosan Bears, based on their performance in the 2022 season (8th place). The Lotte scout team is expected to worry until the last moment of the call between ‘double pitcher’ Jeon Mir (Gyeongbuk High School) and ‘fastball pitcher’ Yook Seon-yeop (Jangchung High School).
Jeon Mir is evaluated as having talent as both a pitcher and a hitter. Jeon Mir is a right-handed hitter with a height of 188 cm and a weight of 95 kg, and he performed equally well on the mound and at the plate. He led Gyeongbuk High School to victory in the Blue Dragon National High School Baseball Championship last July.
Jeon Mir appeared in 14 games (67 and two-thirds innings) as a pitcher this season, recording excellent results of 5 wins and 1 loss, an ERA of 1.32, and WHIP (on-base percentage allowed per inning) of 0.85.
He also hit hard at the plate. Jeon Mir appeared in 27 games as a fielder and finished with a batting average of 0.346 (28 hits in 81 at-bats), 3 home runs, 32 RBIs, a slugging percentage of 0.519, an on-base percentage of 0.513, and an OPS (slugging percentage + on-base percentage) of 1.032. There is analysis that he can grow into a ‘power hitter’ based on his strong strength.
Jeon Mir has the nickname ‘Fighting Chicken’ in the high school baseball world due to his excellent physical condition and strong desire to win. If Lotte chooses Jeon Mir, it appears that they will need to come up with a training strategy on how to use him on the mound and at bat.
Yook Seon-yeop is also a player that Lotte covets. Yook Seon-yeop is evaluated as someone who can be used immediately as a right-handed starting pitcher.
Yook Seon-yeop is a right-handed pitcher with a height of 190 cm and a weight of 90 kg. Based on his good physical condition, his fastball speed exceeding 150 km per hour is attractive. He also has excellent ball control, and is immediately evaluated as a power player by scouts from various clubs.
Yook Seon-yeop appeared in 12 games (21 2/3 innings) this season, recording 2 wins, an ERA of 0.41, and a WHIP of 1.05. In the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 World Youth Baseball Championship, which ended in Taiwan on the 11th, he struck out 13 batters in 10 innings. In particular, he appeared as a starter in the game against the Netherlands held on the 8th and, based on his outstanding pitch control, threw 68 pitches in 3 and 2/3 innings and struck out 5.
Meanwhile, it is certain that pitchers Won Sang-hyun and Seong Young-tak, who led Busan High School to the Golden Lion championship this season, will also be selected by KBO League teams.
Won Sang-hyun performed well based on his excellent ball control and his main weapon, the power curve. Seong Young-tak played an active role as an ace pitcher at Busan High School based on his excellent ball control. Busan High School outfielder Yeon Jun-won is also expected to be selected in the upper round.