Hanwha, struggling in the 4-5 spot, pulls out two new cards. Lee Tae-yang (33) and rookie Kim Seo-hyun (19), who were moved from the bullpen to the all-weather role, will take over the 4-5 spot.스포츠토토
Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho said in an interview before the team’s game against Doosan in Daejeon on Wednesday that Lee Tae-yang and Kim Seo-hyun will start against the Changwon NC on April 16 and 17, respectively. The two pitchers, who pitched side-by-side in relief the day before, will take the mound on four and five days’ rest, respectively. Lee has 102 career games (24-37, 5.26 ERA) as a starter. Kim Seo-hyun hasn’t made a start in the first team, but is 2-1 with a 4.37 ERA in six starts in the second-level Futures League.
Hanwha has struggled with four or five starters since June. Han Seung-hyuk has gotten seven starts, but has struggled with a 2-2 record and 7.06 ERA. He was sent down early after giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits (one home run) and two walks in two innings against Doosan on June 11. Jang Min-jae was also sent back down to the second team just two games after returning to the first team, leaving Hanwha with two open spots in the starting lineup.
Coach Choi Won-ho made a change after much deliberation, choosing Lee Tae-yang and Kim Seo-hyun as the fourth and fifth starters. “When I saw Han Seung-hyuk yesterday, I realized that I had to change the starters, so I moved Lee Tae-yang up (three times) to put him in that spot and thought about it for about three innings. The Futures team told me that the coaches didn’t feel confident enough in their starting pitchers to make a recommendation, so I decided to start Lee Tae-yang.”
However, when Lee gave up two more runs in the third inning, she was pulled early and Kim Seo-hyun was brought in for the fourth inning. Kim Seo-hyun was expected to go three or four innings with 70-80 pitches as he had received starting lessons in the second team, but his pitches were shaky with only eight strikes. After 2⅔ innings of three hits, six walks, two strikeouts, and four runs, he was removed with 81 pitches.
Choi said, “I tried to keep Kim Seo-hyun in a comfortable situation. It was a Friday game, so I had to think about bullpen exhaustion, and I had to see how long he could go in the first inning. I took him out early because he threw more pitches than I thought he would,” Choi said. “It’s true that he didn’t look good compared to what we saw from the Futures or his record, but we have to give him a proper (starting) opportunity. I told Kim Seo-hyun to prepare well so that the same thing doesn’t happen in his next start.”
On Kim Seo-hyun’s struggles with his pitches, Choi said, “Young players have a hard time controlling themselves when things don’t go their way. Yesterday, when it wasn’t going well, I had to quickly come up with a concept, and I’m still not good at that. When I tried to throw hard, my body opened up and I lost my balance. Throwing hard is not a skill. Moon Dong-ju also had such a look when he was bad. Kim Seo-hyun also needs to learn it as he continues to experience games.”
Regarding Han Seung-hyuk, who was dropped to the second team, Choi said, “He was in the starting lineup for two months, but while he was raising his pitch count, his start was canceled due to rain, and it was probably difficult for him to show what he had prepared. It’s a little unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. “I’m going to go down to Futures and have a meeting with the coaching staff and see what they think. We’ll make adjustments based on what the Futures coaches saw and thought.”
In Han Seung-hyuk’s absence, Hanwha rostered bullpen reliever Kang Jae-min. He will return to the first team as soon as he meets the 10-day re-enrollment deadline. Choi said of Kang, “It wasn’t a problem with the ball. I had to take a break mentally, but I think it came at a good time. We’ll see what happens.”
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