“A starting pitcher? I want to try it.”
LG Sidearm Jung Woo-young (24) joined the team in the 2nd round 2nd 15th in 2019 and continues to evolve every year. As a tall sidearm, he significantly increased the velocity of his two-seam fastball, his main weapon, by bulking up. According to Statiz, a baseball statistics site, the average speed of fastballs in the 2022 season was 151.5 km. I took it up to 157 km. His weight increased from 94 kg to 98 kg.
He played a big role with an average ERA of 2.64 with 2 wins, 3 losses and 35 holds in 67 games in the 2022 season, and played a key role in LG’s winning streak. As a result, he won the Hold King. His two-seam ratio was a whopping 92.1%, but batters could not attack even if they knew. Combining uniqueness with strong pitches, he has been reborn as the KBO league’s strongest bullpen pitcher. He was also included in the WBC national team, and can go all the way to the Asian Games and APBC.
On the 3rd (hereafter Korean time) 안전놀이터, Jung Woo-young has a faster pace than other pitchers at the LG Spring Camp, which is being held at the San Francisco Giants Baseball Park in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. LG quickly set up a bullpen pitching schedule for pitchers going to the WBC, and Jung Woo-young came in about 10 days earlier than the main team to build up his body in advance and start adjusting to jet lag quickly.
Jung Woo-young said, “The weather is colder than I thought, but I can adjust to the jet lag and it’s good. There are many international competitions this year, and I am greedy. After all, he can play a good season if he doesn’t get sick. If he improves from last year, he will be selected for the Asian Games and APBC. They say I did well, but I am greedy.”
I raised my speed by bulking up, but as it turned out, it was said that I was confident of 160 km. Jung Woo-young said, “Honestly, it seems possible if you throw hard. But if you push yourself like that, you’ll get hurt. It will not be too late even if my body grows perfectly and takes on challenges.”
He already overwhelms others with restraint. He has a practical attitude, saying that there is no need to be greedy for the symbolism of 160km. He also uses sliders, so strictly speaking, he is a two-pitch pitcher. Rather than that, I think that if I don’t go through the ups and downs that I briefly experienced last summer, my grades will go up even more this year. In fact, Jung Woo-young only had an average ERA of 6.43 with 1 loss and 7 holds in 11 games last August.
Jung Woo-young said, “I had a bad month last summer, but there was an aspect that I couldn’t fully adapt to after growing up. This year I have fully adapted to my body. I want to keep a good flow from the beginning of the season to the end. Muscle strength is important, but you also need to increase body fat.”
In a way, I said something out of the ordinary. If you are a two-seam in the late 150km range, wouldn’t you be greedy for selection? It’s because he has two pitches, but he doesn’t know how to throw other breaking balls. Jung Woo-young actually said, “I want to try the selection.”
Of course, it wasn’t something serious. It is limited to cases where circumstances and conditions are met in the future. There is no reason for Jung Woo-young to change his role on the LG mound right now. However, there is bound to be curiosity about a pitcher with the power of Jung Woo-young throwing long innings. again you don’t know You can be successful if you prepare well.
These days, Jung Woo-young is being talked about challenging the major leagues. He doesn’t yet have a clear goal of advancing to the major leagues like Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) and his teammate Go Woo-seok. Jung Woo-young is also realistic. “For now, only look at the present, right in front. At first, I had no thoughts of major league, but people around me told me to try it.”
So, the upcoming WBC in March is a meaningful showcase and competitive test stage. Jung Woo-young has the mindset that he will win if the confrontation with Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels) is also successful. “It is an honor in itself to participate in an international competition as a national representative. If manager Lee Kang-cheol appoints me, I want to face batter Ohtani. No need to worry. We (LG) pitchers also talk to each other. Ohtani is a great player.”