The choice of Jang Hyun-seok (19‧ Masan Yongmago), who was selected as the biggest player in the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft, was a major league challenge. Until the new year of 2023 dawned, I had been thinking about entering the US and participating in the KBO draft, but I decided to go for a bigger dream.
Jang Hyun-seok is evaluated as having the most complete skills and outstanding potential among the 3rd year of high school this year. The fast ball in the mid-150 km/h range, which comes out of a sturdy body, is heavy, and there are many breaking balls that can be used as a deciding ball. He is also well-received for not being a high school student in terms of his commands and game management skills. Major league clubs have also been tracking Jang Hyun-suk’s every move for a long time, examining the process of growth and the possibility of success.토토사이트
In the industry, it is believed that the continued interest of major league clubs had a great influence on Jang Hyun-suk’s final decision. Currently, several teams are known to be looking for Jang Hyun-seok, and the leading team among them is the Los Angeles Dodgers. An official familiar with the situation said, “The Dodgers are one of the teams that have watched Jang Hyun-suk since the early days of scouting.” The industry predicts that there will be a certain calculation.
It is not yet at the stage of officially signing a contract, but anyway, local Dodgers fans are showing great interest in reports from Korea. There are an increasing number of articles introducing Jang Hyun-seok and predicting the possibility of Jang Hyun-seok’s contract, mainly on various fan sites.
On the 8th (Korean time), ‘Sports Kid’ introduced the theory of a contract between the Dodgers and Hyun-seok Jang, saying, ‘Who is Hyun-seok Jang?’ ‘Sports kid’ said, ‘Sometimes in baseball, the rich get richer, but if the LA Dodgers bring in pitching prospect Jang Hyun-seok, this will prove to be true.’ ‘ he wrote.
Next, ‘Sports Kid’ said, ‘Jang Hyun-seok, who is 6 feet 3 inches (190 cm) tall, can throw a fast ball over 97 miles (156.1 km) and has many secondary pitches, including slider, sweeper, curveball, and changeup.’ Citing the merits, “Ahead of the MLB trade deadline, the Dodgers traded prospects Aldrin Batista and Maximo Martinez to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for an additional pool of international prospects. There is a possibility that this was done in order to secure finances to bring Jang Hyun-suk.”
The Dodgers page of another fan site, ‘Fansied’, also reported the rumors of Jang Hyun-seok’s contract with the Dodgers, saying, ‘Jang Hyun-seok, only 19 years old, is one of the most promising pitching prospects in Korea, but he has no intention of playing professionally in Korea.’ The future has not yet been decided. But given his impressive arm, Jang Hyun-suk could follow in the footsteps of the Dodgers’ Korean-born All-Star pitchers Chan-Ho Park and Hyun-Jin Ryu.’
‘Fansied’ said ‘He can already throw a fast ball at 98 miles per hour (157.7 km) and has a strong pitching combination. If the Dodgers develop him properly, he could soon become an asset to a major league team.” Then, the Dodgers said that there are many right-handed prospects in the Dodgers, such as Gavin Stone, Ryan Peppiot, Nick Frasso, and River Line, and that “selecting a prospect like Jang Hyun-seok is a move to continue adding to the strengths of the system,” inferring the reason for the contract attempt. did.
Jang Hyun-seok, who has officially announced that he will not participate in the KBO draft, is likely to listen to several offers from major league clubs. While attention is focusing on whether he will be able to cross the symbolic line of $1 million down payment, the official contract may move to next year as the international prospect recruiting bonus pool has not yet been initialized. In fact, Shim Jun-seok, who signed a contract with the Pittsburgh a year earlier, went through the same process. In any case, with major league teams lining up for contracts, the odds of poor treatment are extremely slim.
The Los Angeles Dodgers is a club that Korean fans are very familiar with, and it is a popular team in Korea as well as in the US. This is the influence of Park Chan-ho, who played for the Dodgers for a long time. Park Chan-ho, who is indispensable in the history of major league challenges in Korean baseball, debuted in the major leagues in 1994 wearing a Dodgers uniform and received national attention and love. He played 221 games (176 starting games) from 1994 to 2001, right before transferring to Texas, and he ran his heyday with an ERA of 3.80 with an ERA of 80 wins and 54 losses.
Ryu Hyun-jin is also a successful name. Ryu Hyun-jin, who played in the KBO, signed a contract with the Dodgers through the posting system ahead of the 2013 season and worked as a member of the ‘Dodger Blue’ until 2019. During this period, he recorded 54 wins and 33 losses with an ERA of 2.98 in 126 games (125 starts), and in 2019, with an ERA of 2.32, he ranked first in the National League average ERA and second in the Cy Young Young vote, and was named as a practical ace. blew
There are more Korean stars who went through the Dodgers. Choi Hee-seop had a career in which he played 164 games for the Dodgers from 2004 to 2005. Choi Hee-seop recorded a batting average of 0.238, 15 homers, 48 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.747 in her Dodgers career. Seo Jae-eung also played half a season for the Dodgers in 2006. He went 2-4 with an ERA of 5.78 in 19 games (10 starts). Currently, in the minor league system, right-handed prospect Choi Hyun-il is connecting Korea and the Dodgers.