Hanwha Eagles “monster rookie” Kim Seo-hyun (19) had a rough start to his career.
Kim started the 12th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park on Sunday, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks with one strikeout in two innings.
The bats rallied to turn the game around and avoid a loss, but Kim had his work cut out for him.
Kim struggled in his last start against the Doosan Bears on Nov. 11, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 2⅔ innings. Having previously pitched in relief in all 19 of his first-team games and received a six-game starting assignment with the Futures, Kim was highly anticipated on the mound for the first time in 65 days, but his fastball was no match for his offspeed stuff.스포츠토토
The fastball was the problem. Kim threw a mix of fastballs, curves, sliders, and two-seamers on the day. His fastball topped out at 151 mph, and his two-seamer reached 153 mph. But 24 balls, more than 20 strikes, were the challenge.
Kim Seo-hyun got the first batter, Son As-seob, to ground out in front of the second baseman with two 152-kilometer-per-hour fastballs. Park Min-woo followed with a fastball and grounded out to the pitcher.
However, after a fastball, Park showed two sliders and then a fastball before giving up a double to left field. Against Martin, he threw a fastball for a first pitch and then a two-pitch slider before giving up a single to right.
Kim struck out Kwon Hee-dong to get out of the inning. He gave up a walk to Oh Young-soo, the first batter of the second inning, and a single to Do Tae-hoon, whose fastball didn’t even reach 150 kilometers. He then gave up a sacrifice bunt to Ahn Jung-yeol, putting runners on first and second and third, and a walk to Kim Joo-won.
The bases were loaded. He then gave up a single to right to Son As-seob. Park Min-woo grounded out in front of the first baseman, but Do Tae-hoon crossed home plate to extend Kim’s lead to three.
Kim Seo-hyun continued to look shaky as he gave up a walk to Park Gun-woo, but he got Martin to ground out to the first baseman to get out of the inning. In the third inning, with the team trailing 2-3, Han Seung-ju took over the mound.
He threw the ball under a lot of scrutiny six days after his debut was postponed due to the effects of Typhoon Kanun, but this year’s No. 1 overall pick by Hanwha needs to resolve his delivery issues if he wants to carve out a spot for himself.
He can’t be considered a “special rookie” just because he has a fastball. He needs to be confident on the mound and keep his pitches in the strike zone to become the “special rookie” that the Hanwha organization and fans expect.
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