Sovereign Jeon Wan-geun, Kim Min-soo had a shoulder problem…
Pitchers who were in charge of dirty work in the bullpen who were unable to pitch in the early season left together. Sovereignty and Kim Min-soo (above KT Wiz) will be away for the time being.
A problem was found in the physical condition of the two pitchers who had undergone a hospital examination. Sovereignty was diagnosed with a right forearm muscle, and Kim Min-soo was diagnosed with a right shoulder supraspinatus tendon injury. It’s not a situation where you need surgery or miss an entire season, but you should be committed to taking a break for two months. The exact time of return is unknown.
Naturally, their entry into the opening entry for the regular season was also unsuccessful. kt must immediately find resources to replace the two players. Coach Lee Kang-cheol, who had completed his power plan to some extent during the spring camp, was deeply troubled.토토사이트
itchers who accounted for a large portion of the team
Joo Kwon, the ‘original member’ who joined kt as a priority designation in 2015, pitched in 396 games in the first team, recording 573 innings, 32 wins, 36 losses, 105 holds, 4 saves, and an average ERA of 5.14. He mainly worked as a relief pitcher, and in 2019 and 2020, he pitched more than 70 games for two consecutive years.
In particular, starting from 2019, he showed stable pitching and took on an axis of Pil Seung-jo. Last year, he added great strength to the team with 3 wins, 3 losses, 15 holds, 1 save and an average ERA of 3.91 in 58 games and 50⅔ innings. Recently, he participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) as a member of the Chinese national team.
If sovereignty has been steady every year, Kim Min-soo has recently established himself as a member of the Pilseungjo. Like sovereignty, he joined in 2015, but his talents did not bloom for a long time, and from 2021 (56 games, 58 innings, 4 wins, 2 losses, 11 holds, ERA of 2.95), the opportunity to start has increased significantly.
Last season, he showed a step forward by utilizing not only fastballs but also sliders and curveballs in the right places. 76 games, 80⅔innings, 5 wins, 4 losses, 30 holds, 3 saves, and an average ERA of 1.90, ranking second in the hold category after Jung Woo-young (LG Twins, 35 holds).
Even just looking at it like this, you can feel how big the two pitchers accounted for in the team’s power. Moreover, in the case of Kim Min-soo, he digested the most innings among all relief pitchers in the league last season. He needs to find a replacement, but it is expected that it will not be easy to operate the mound normally at the beginning of the season.
Although there are no alternatives such as Park Young-hyun and Bae Seong-seong…
There are only two remaining Pil Seung-jo resources, Kim Jae-yoon and Park Young-hyun. It is possible to predict to some extent that Kim Jae-yoon is the finisher like last year and Park Young-hyun, who is in his 2nd year this year, throws more than last year (51⅔ innings). However, there is a limit to filling the void of the wounded only with these.
The first face that comes to mind is exclusion. He is a pitcher capable of both starting and bullpen. He played 6 of 24 games last year as a reliever. The team wants a pitcher who can throw medium to long. Currently, it is possible to make a 5-starter system with foreign one-two punches Koh Young-pyo, Sohn Joon-jun, and Eom Sang-baek.
In fact, the coaching staff also has plans to appoint Jae-Seong as a relief pitcher. In an exhibition game against the Doosan Bears on the 20th, Bae Seong-seong, who came out as the third pitcher after starter Wes Benjamin and second pitcher Min Kim, received a passing grade by pitching 2 hits and no runs in 1⅔ innings.
In addition, Kim Min and Son Dong-hyun, who returned from military service last year, are candidates for Pil Seung-jo. Opportunities may go to bullpen resources other than Pil Seung-jo, such as Lee Chae-ho. Coach Lee Kang-cheol is expected to make a decision after using the pitchers as much as possible during the remaining demonstration games.
Last season, it was ‘injury’ that bothered kt. Starting with Kang Baek-ho, the main players were injured one by one. Even Park Si-young, who was the core of the bullpen, left the mound due to an injury in mid-May. I finally wanted to become a ‘complete group’, but even with the new season ahead, injuries got in the way. As for kt, I just hope that there will be no more injured players.