"23-year-old left-hander lottery"
The KIA Tigers mound is a left-hander. All three native starters (Yang Hyun-jong, Lee Eui-ri, and Yoon Young-chul) are left-handers. In addition to the existing one-point agent Lee Joon-young, the bullpen has also fostered a special bullpen called Choi Ji-min. Submarines Kim Dae-yu and Kwak Do-gyu, who have different arm heights, are also left-handers.
There's a left-hander who's forgotten here. Kim Ki-hoon, the first nominee for 2019. After graduating from Gwangju Dongsung High School, he joined the club splendidly, and he was a rising star enough to be called post-Yang Hyeon-jong. But it doesn't stick out as much as you think. In 75 games in the first division, he won five games and lost 10 with a hold average of 5.10.
After failing to establish himself for two years after joining the club, he boldly applied for the position. He solved military service first, and joined the first team as a bullpen at the end of the 2022 season and made a surprise performance. 1.04 ERA with no record in five games. There were no ups and downs in control, which was a chronic problem,
The winning move, which was revised from Sangmu to pitching form, seemed to work. No. Five games were not enough. As he prepared for this season, he had a lot of expectations, but the command went back and forth throughout the season as he lost his good pitching balance.
In 29 games, he lost to rookie Yoon Young-chul early in the competition for starting pitcher with two wins and a 4.60 ERA, and was pushed back again in the bullpen with the appearance of Choi Ji-min and Lim Ki-young. After preparing again in the second division, he returned to the first division, but the pitch was also a little inconsistent.
Based on Statistics, a baseball statistics website, the average speed of his fastballs was 143.9 kilometers, which clearly rose from 139.2 kilometers in the 2020 season, but this did not lead to an improvement in his performance. Considering that he is a left-hander, his speed is competitive enough. After all, command and breaking ball quality are hot topics.
KIA announced on the 27th that it will send five players to Canberra Cavaliers in the Australian professional baseball league. As Geelong Korea disappeared from the league, Shim Jae-hak, the head of the team, negotiated against Canberra himself. One of the players on the list is Kim Ki-hoon.
This shows how much the club's expectations are. It is still necessary to endure until Kim Ki-hoon grows up as a main pitcher in the first division. He is already senior to Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-chul, who have already ranked first and second in the post Yang Hyun-jong in the first division. However, Kim Ki-hoon is still 23 years old.
In fact, KIA's 2024 season starting lineup and bullpen are outlined to some extent. Kim Ki-hoon doesn't know where and how to dig, but it's right to grow into a major pitcher somehow with this kind of speed and potential. Just a year ago, Choi Ji-min's baseball life changed through studying in Australia. This is Kim Ki-hoon's turn. You need to feel and learn a lot by studying in Australia.