“It surprises me every day.”
There is a 19-year-old rookie who makes the command tower happy. After he joined the team, he moved from the infield to the outfield, but has shown remarkable adaptability.
Lotte Giants Kim Min-seok (19) is the main character.
Kim Min-seok, from Whimoon High먹튀검증 School, wore a Lotte uniform as the first choice. For Lotte, it is the player who gave up on catcher Kim Beom-seok and pitcher Shin Young-woo with a ‘154km’ fastball.
Satisfaction is high so far. Kim Min-seok is drawing public attention even before his official debut.
He showed a formidable blow in Geelong Korea last winter. He was a blower who focused on hitting rather than picking calmly, but the bat was quite sharp. He recorded 2.3 5 Lee and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.612 against pitchers in the Australian League, which are higher than the second group in the KBO League.
Even in his exhibition games, he is batting .400 (4-for-10) with 2 RBI and 2 walks. He is also adjusting well in the center field position. Although he recorded one error, his wide fielding range and better-than-expected batting judgment are praised.
In the demonstration game, he is playing as a center fielder along with Ahn Kwon-soo. It is not easy to see a corner outfielder whose batted ball bends as he has almost no experience in the outfield. However, he is expected to be a more heavily used hitter than a left-handed pinch hitter.
Among Lotte hitters, Ahn Kwon-soo is showing off the sharpest sense of hitting. Ahn Kwon-soo has a batting average of 64.7 (11 hits in 17 at-bats), leading the team in batting average.
Hwang Seong-bin, who played center field last year, is playing only in left field this year. Hwang Seong-bin also has a good batting average with a batting average of .429 (9 hits in 21 bats). Koh Seung-min, who played right fielder, is expected to play first base more frequently.
Lotte coach Larry Sutton said, “The outfield defense has improved compared to last year. Ahn Kwon-soo and Hwang Seong-bin are doing well not only in offense but also in defense. (Rookie) Kim Min-seok is also surprising me in defense. It is said that a player who has just moved to the outfield is so good. I want to,” and smiled brightly.
Lotte has 1 win, 1 draw and 6 losses, and is at the bottom of the exhibition game. However, coach Sutton emphasized, “A variety of players are doing well, so I can take the lineup or late game operation more flexibly.”
Regarding the struggling starters, “Exhibition games are a process of building up the number of pitches and reviving the senses. Both Strayley and Na Kyun-an are throwing strikes. It’s not a situation to worry about,” he said. “There is a need to throw better strikes. Please view it as the overall build-up process.”