Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-chul are well aware that you have to be nervous... KIA's spring surprise show will happen again
Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-chul are well aware that you have to be nervous... KIA's spring surprise show will happen again
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It is very difficult for a rookie player, especially a high school graduate, to enter the opening starting rotation. No matter how weak the starting lineup is, there are seniors who have priority because of their experience in starting. Unless you set your mind and press the rebuilding button, you must overcome those seniors with skill, and you must also have the ability to keep the position throughout the season.메이저놀이터
KIA is a team that has achieved a smooth generational change of starting pitchers as such high school graduates have settled down in the starting rotation since their debut season. With two foreign pitchers and Yang Hyun-jong, the native ace, holding out, rookie players have taken over the positions of the 4th and 5th starting pitchers in succession. The main characters are left-hander Lee Eui-ri (23), who received the team's first designation in 2021, and left-hander Yoon Young-chul (21), who received the team's first round designation in 2023 (the second overall pick). In a world where it is difficult to find a single left-hander, two potential left-hander starters appeared one after another. It was a tremendous success.
Lee Eui-ri, who has excellent potential in terms of ball power with fastballs reaching 150 kilometers per hour, has been in the starting rotation since the start of 2021. At that time, the club also predicted Lee as the next ace and put a lot of effort into it. He tried to manage the innings with a certain upper limit, and he did not hide his plan to grow it step by step.
He pitched 94 ⅔ innings in 19 games in the 2021 season, posting four wins, five losses and an earned run average of 3.61. Had it not been for the injury sustained at the end of the season, he would have been able to pitch 100 innings as a rookie. In 2022, he played 154 innings as he secured his first double-digit wins (10 wins) in 29 games. It was his first play in the regular innings. In 2023, he played in 28 games, posting 11 wins, seven losses and an earned run average of 3.96. He has become a pitcher with high reputation in the national team as well.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Yoon caused a so-called "rebellion." At that time, Kia had two foreign pitchers and up to Yang Hyeon-jong and Lee Eui-ri had decided to join the rotation. Lim Ki-young, Kim Ki-hoon and Yoon Young-chul seemed to be in a fight for the remaining spot. Lim Ki-young was already proven as a starter, and Kim Ki-hoon, who was discharged from the military at the end of the 2022 season, displayed powerful performances. However, Yoon started to play with a sense of stability from the camp and secured the opening rotation, causing an unusual scene.
Yoon Young-chul, who has a different tendency from Lee Eui-ri, played 25 games in 2023 with stable game management, calmness that is difficult to be considered as a high school graduate, and his command. He pitched 122 ⅔ innings, going 8-7 with a 4.04 ERA.
But their successful rotation has paradoxically meant that they can also suffer from the pursuit of their juniors. Both players have also been in the starting lineup since they were rookies, so they may feel well that keeping them is not easy. On top of that, injuries overlapped. Lee will not be able to return until the middle of this year after undergoing elbow surgery. Yoon did not finish the season due to a back injury in the middle of last year.
With the growth of right-hander duo Hwang Dong-ha and Kim Do-hyun, who have filled the gap between the two players relatively well, there is another candidate. Right-hander Kim Tae-hyung, who was nominated by KIA in the first round in 2025, is the main character. Since high school, expectations have been high that he can grow into a complete starter, and KIA also sees Kim Tae-hyung as the next starting member. Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-chul came out one after another for the left-hander, but Kim Tae-hyung's appearance was quite welcome because the growth of large prospects was relatively slow for the right-hander.
During the last Okinawa closing camp, he also caught the eye of the coaching staff by showing his good physical condition and completeness, which was not like a rookie. When KIA manager Lee Bum-ho split his busy schedule and stopped by the closing camp, the coaches even adjusted the schedule to show Kim Tae-hyung's pitch to Lee. Coach Lee and the coaching staff judge that the pitch is highly complete for a rookie. The position is undecided right now, but there is no disagreement within the team that they will raise him as a starter.
"I think he will do well given his quality and personality," pitching coach Chung Jae-hoon said, while giving careful evaluation. His excellent fastball and breaking ball pitching capability, and his ability to play at certain release points drew favorable comments, saying that he does not look like a player who just graduated from high school. Analysts also say that he may be closer to a sense of strength immediately after playing in the first round than Cho Dae-hyun, who was picked to raise the team for a long time. Attention is focusing on whether Kim Tae-hyung will be able to jump into the Kia Tigers' starting lineup war.