Is he going to be a king… With Kim Taek-yeon's full-time finish, Moon Dong-ju will be selected as a K-class starter
Is he going to be a king… With Kim Taek-yeon's full-time finish, Moon Dong-ju will be selected as a K-class starter
Blog Article
Young Guns, former Rookie of the Year who are set to take on a new challenge in the new season of professional baseball, are poised to lead the league. Last year's Rookie of the Year Kim Taek-yeon (20, Doosan Bears) showed the dignity of finishing with confidence in throwing seven straight fastballs in an exhibition game, while Moon Dong-ju (22, Hanwha Eagles) of the 2023 Rookie of the Year shot a sign of escaping the slump with a fastball approaching 160km/h.먹튀검증
●Kim, Ttuksim-tu still... The key to hitting left-handed batters
Doosan, which is tied for first place (3-1) in the 2025 KBO League exhibition game as of the 12th, will leave Kim Taek-yeon to crack down on the back door from the opening game of this year's regular league. Kim Taek-yeon, who started last year as a cunning player, took the mound in the 9th inning since mid-May when Jeong Cheol-won, who was originally in charge of finishing the game, fell into a slump, and has become the "strongest rookie" by breaking the record of most saves (19) among high school graduates. Doosan traded Jung Cheol-won to the Lotte Giants after the last season because of its trust in Kim Taek-yeon. Kim Taek-yeon responded to this belief by taking the mound for the first time in an exhibition game against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on the 10th and showing off her strong pitching. In the 8th inning, he took the mound and easily handled three batters, including Park Byung-ho, and recorded a hold. He was so confident that 12 out of 16 balls were fastballs. In particular, he threw only seven straight fastballs against Lee Byung-hun and Jeon Byung-woo. Doosan's foreign pitcher Jack Rogue, who debuted the next day, struggled with four runs (no earned runs) in three innings, but all of its starting resources, including one-two-punch Cole Irvin (3 scoreless innings), Choi Seung-yong, and Choi Won-joon (one run in four innings), are in an encouraging mood as they are pitching well.
However, Kim still has a task to find a way to target left-handed batters. In the last regular season, Kim's batting average of 0.259 for left-handed hitters was higher than that of right-handed hitters of 0.177. "Although I am under more pressure this season than last year, I will relieve pressure by reducing blon saves and walks," he said. "I will use change-ups, splitters and fastballs against left-handed hitters. I will test them at exhibition games."
●Moon Declares Restoration of Honor... 160 km/h
The most welcome news for Hanwha fans is that Moon Dong-ju has made a comeback. Moon took the mound in the top of the sixth inning against SSG Landers in Incheon on the 11th, and allowed one out and two strikeouts in one inning. It was his first official game in six months, but he threw fastballs in the late 150km/h range and reached the maximum speed of 159.7km/h.
Last year, when Moon recorded a five-point ERA due to poor ball control, Hanwha's dream of fall baseball was dashed. After ending the season early in September due to his shoulder injury, Moon had no choice but to watch. Rumors have it that Moon will move to the bullpen, but Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon called him a starting pitcher. Moon will join the starting lineup consisting of Ryan Weiss, Cody Ponce, Ryu Hyun-jin and Um Sang-baek next month.
According to the Hanwha Eagles, Moon will pitch in exhibition games against Lotte on April 14 and Samsung on April 18, respectively. "I threw after a long time. I'm more satisfied that my shoulder (which I injured last year) didn't hurt," Moon said after the SSG game. "I will raise my sense of play and come back as the starting pitcher as soon as possible. It will help my team."