Right-hander Choi Choong-yeon and left-hander Lee Seung-hyun, both former Samsung Lions first picks, have emerged as the left and right cards of Pil Seung-jo.
Choong-Yeon Choi, who pitched in 38 games last year and had only one loss (average ERA of 4.70) without a win, climbed to the mound three times as of the 20th and made two saves, ranking second in this category following Lee Jung-yong (LG). The average ERA is 0.00.
Manager Park Jin-man said, “While acting as manager, I felt that the bullpen was a bit weak,” and emphasized that “Choi Chung-yeon should play an important role as a key player this season.”
Choi Choong-yeon got on the mound in the ninth inning with a two-point lead in the opening match of the exhibition game against SSG on the 13th, overcame the crisis with two outs and loaded the bases, and won his first save. On the 15th, against LG, he added a hold while boasting a good pitch with 1⅓ scoreless innings (1 hit, 2 strikeouts).
On the 18th against Daegu KT, Choi Choong-yeon, who took the mound as the team’s 6th pitcher in the 9th inning, cleaned up one inning and kept the victory 5-4.
Director Park Jin-man is full of praise whenever a story about Choi Chung-yeon comes out.
He said, “My pitch will get better and better. Last year, I lacked a sense of the game, but I threw a lot of balls during the camp to save (sense).
Lee Seung-hyun, who recorded the most individual records since his debut with 14 holds (average ERA of 4.53) last year, showed off two consecutive scoreless pitches in the demonstration game. He made his debut belatedly in terms of conditioning.
In the home game against KT on the 18th, he climbed the mound as the third pitcher in the 5th inning, trailing by 0-2, and tied three batters: Cho Yong-ho (strikeout), Park Gyeong-soo (shortstop fly ball), and Jang Seong-woo (shortstop grounder).
Head coach Park Jin-man said ahead of the match against Daegu Lotte on the 20th, “Lee Seung-hyun was in poor shape during the camp in Okinawa, Japan, so he was out of shape. It seems. Speed and balance will both get better.”
Lee Seung-hyun took the mound in the 8th inning with a 5-2 lead and struck out all three batters, Kim Min-soo, Ko Seung-min and Lee Ho-yeon.안전놀이터 He put the opponent’s batting line to rest with a fast ball of up to 147 km, a curve with a large drop and a sharp slider.
Manager Park Jin-man expressed his satisfaction, saying, “Pil Seung-jo has not been decided. All the players know it well. We are working hard to occupy one spot.” Choong-Yeon Choi and Seung-Hyun Lee, who are continuing their scoreless streak in the demonstration games, are at the center of it.