It's neither the Rookie of the Year race nor Hwang Joon-seo nor Kim Taek-yeon.

Cho Byung-hyun (SSG Landers) of the fourth year is strongly emerging, beating Hwang Joon-seo (Hanwha Eagles), Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan Bears), and Jeon Mir (Lotte Giants), who received hot attention as the first to third place in the 2024 rookie draft. 

Cho joined the 2021 Rookie Draft after being drafted by the SSG in the second and third rounds (ranked 28th overall). In his first year, he pitched in three games in the first division and recorded an 8.10 ERA (seven runs and six earned in six ⅔).  

After finishing the 2021 season, he chose to serve in the military early on, and applied to the Sangmu Baseball Team and was accepted. He recorded an ERA of 3.77 wins, one loss, and one hold in 11 games (28 ⅔ innings) in 2022, and posted an ERA of 2.25 with 43 wins, two losses, 17 saves, and four holds. After returning to the SSG, he is playing as a bullpen pitcher this season. 

At a Kiwoom-SSG game held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Sunday, Cho took the mound in the top of the seventh inning when his team was losing 4-5. During the two innings, Cho had two hits, one strikeout and no run. He pitched a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per fastball, and 21 pitches in an efficient manner. 

In the seventh inning, Cho had a left-handed hit by leadoff hitter Lee Ju-hyung, but handled Dawson with a fly ball to shortstop and Kim Hye-sung with a double play to the first base without losing a point. He ended the game with only 10 pitches. After taking the mound in the eighth inning, Cho also grounded out Choi Joo-hwan, struck out Kim Hui-jip with a 147-km fastball to the first base, and threw out Lee Hyung-jong with a fly ball to the left field.

The SSG tied the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and turned the game around to win the game 8-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning, making Cho the winning pitcher. "I thought it would take about five years (including military service) until the first win, but it came out sooner than I thought. I was grateful that the seniors and the older members gave me a point because I had a hit and walked," Cho said after the game.

His main weapon is a heavy fastball with a high RBI of late 140 kilometers. "I want to throw a fastball no matter what situation I go up to, and the coach and coach also said it is better to play a game faster than a walk, so I am trying to do so," Cho said.

He has one win, three holds and an ERA of 0.96 in seven games. He has three hits, three walks, 12 strikeouts, a WHIP of 0.54 and a batting average of 0.071 during nine ⅓ innings, making his detailed statistics much better. When asked about the secret to his good performance, Cho said, "I think I am lucky rather than good at throwing. I think I gained more confidence because my ball speed has increased a lot compared to before I joined the military." 

When asked about his goals in the future, Cho said, "My goal for this season is 20 holds. It would be nice to hold as many holds as possible, and I hope my team will play in more games to win." When asked about his goal for the Rookie of the Year, he added, "I have a goal, but I want to play at least one more game for my team to win, rather than the Rookie of the Year."

Before the opening game, Kim Taek-yeon, wearing the national team's Team Korea uniform, drew attention as a monster rookie in mid-March when he showed off his powerful fastball during the MLB World Tour's Seoul Series Special Match against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out Teoscar Hernandez and James Outman in succession. 

After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "I don't remember the exact name, but there was a right-handed pitcher. Outman said he pitched really well. He was 91 miles (146 kilometers) but looked like he was 95 to 96 miles (153 to 154 kilometers). He had really good shoulders," in complimenting Kim.

However, Kim suffered a severe setback in the opening game against NC by allowing two runs, two hits, and three walks, in one inning. After being sluggish in two ⅓ with two hits, five walks and one walk, three runs (two earned runs) and a 7.71 ERA in three games after the opening game, he went down to the second division in a week. Kim was called up to the first division again on Wednesday. 

Hwang Joon-seo, the No. 1 overall pick, started the season in the Futures League after being pushed out of the starting competition when Ryu Hyun-jin returned to Hanwha in a surprise move. On the 31st of last month, Kim Min-woo made his debut as a temporary starter as he skipped the starting rotation once due to mild biliary tract symptoms. Against KT, he became the winning pitcher by pitching well in five innings with three hits, one homer, two walks, and five strikeouts and one run. 

When starter Peña was dismissed early in the game against Kiwoom on the 6th, he pitched in the fourth inning and allowed no runs in two innings. The Hanwha Eagles plans to use Hwang Joon-seo as its bullpen for the time being. Hwang has one win and an earned run average of 1.29 in two games. He allowed three hits, two walks, seven strikeouts and one run in seven innings. 

Jeon has been performing well in the bullpen. He has one win and an earned run average of 1.35 in eight games. He allowed five hits, two walks, 12 strikeouts, and three runs (one earned run) in six ⅔ innings. He had WHIP of 1.05 and a hit rate of .185. He lags behind Cho in detailed records.

Cho Byung-hyun, a "second-hand rookie," who did not receive any attention at the opening of the Rookie of the Year race, which was drawing attention to the first to third rankings, is making his name known.

BY: 안전 토토사이트