KIA hasn’t exploded in 10 years…
Hanwha general manager Sohn Hyuk made a trade with KIA as soon as he took office after the 2022 season. He sent pitcher Woo-Hyeok Byun to the KIA and received pitchers Seung-Hyuk Han and Ji-Soo Jang. KIA, which puts its life and death on fostering giant guns, and Hanwha, which started a collection of fastball pitchers, coincided.
Apparently, the biggest spotlight was poured on Han Seung-hyuk. This is because he was a promising prospect of love and hatred that had not exploded at KIA for 10 years. After joining in the 8th place in the 1st round in 2011, it did not explode for 9 seasons except for the military service period. Although he was a promising fireballer in the 150km range, he suffered from bad luck such as chronic ups and downs in his pitching and injuries.
Han Seung-hyuk won the 5th starting competition in the 2022 season and started as a starting pitcher. However, he could not last even a month and had to leave due to an injury. In the end, KIA also decided last fall that a change in the environment was necessary, and made a bold decision. 토토사이트
However, Hanwha has a reverse strategy. It seems that he has no intention of using Han Seung-hyuk as a starting pitcher at this point. He decided to use it as a one-inning setup man. In KIA, in order to succeed as a starting pitcher, he intentionally paid attention to his control, such as slightly reducing his wild form. As a result, the strength disappeared. When Han Seung-hyuk started at KIA for the past 1-2 years, there were not many fastballs that went beyond the 150km range. But that doesn’t mean that Han Seung-hyuk can win with pinpoint control.
Bullpen pitcher Han Seung-hyeok can naturally maximize the strength of his speed. Because there is no need to arrange power, it is possible to pitch every batter. There doesn’t seem to be a big difference in pitching mechanics, but bullpen Han Seung-hyuk is powerful at this point.
In 7 exhibition games, 6⅔ innings, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 3 walks, 2 runs (no ERA), zero ERA. Even if you enter the pilseungye tujo, you will be able to take a look at it. Manager Carlos Subero put the ball on the mound at the bottom of the 7th inning against Gocheok Kiwoom on the 2nd, trailing 2-4. It means that he is not seen as the main set-up man.
Still, Han Seung-hyuk’s pitching was impressive. He threw a 151km fastball into lead hitter Lee Jung-hoo, then threw a forkball and curveball to strike out on a swing. Edison Russell, who has a good sense of hitting, shot a 155km fastball in the first pitch. After lightly preempting two strikes, he strikes out on a swing with a slider. He threw a 153km fastball to Lee Hyeong-jong and hit an assault ball coming toward him and hit the infield. Song Seong-moon was lightly grounded to first base with two fastballs. Cleared 1 inning lightly with 16 balls. There were only 4 balls.
He has accumulated a lot of experience as a starting pitcher, so he has the ability to use a breaking ball. Here, he raised his speed with one inning power pitch, and became a fairly powerful bullpen pitcher. However, as there were times when KIA tried to transform the bullpen and it didn’t work out, he needs to watch a longer section.
Still, it is true that Hanwha has a good feeling at this point. He has no reason not to go to the winning group. Byun Woo-hyeok, who went to KIA, is also doing well, so this trade has a good chance of being a win-win.