It is the last bastion of KIA.
KIA’s early season flow is not as good as expected. I expected that it would be difficult to some extent as Na Seong-beom and Kim Do-young left at the same time, but most of the responses were unbelievable at the bottom with 3 wins and 9 losses. There is also a self-evaluation that the pitching depth has improved, but it feels like it is not connected to the performance in the actual game.
Following the sweep loss of three consecutive expeditions against Kiwoom last weekend, they even gave up against Lotte in Busan on the 18th. In the beginning of the 5th inning, Lotte starting pitcher Park Se-woong took a chance to throw his ball, and after a long time, concentrated hits broke out and scored 5 points. However, he failed to pick up a single run in innings 1–4 and 6–9.
Looking at this game alone, the loss was that setup man Kim Dae-yu was shaken in the 7th inning. However, it is true that the chaos of the batting line is a more serious concern when looking at the beginning of the season as a whole. With 11 hits, 6 walks, and 1 opponent’s error, 18 runners went out, but only scored 5 runs. After all, he has to somehow raise his 0.204 batting average in scoring position.
Coach Kim Jong-guk changes the batting order in each game and expands the range of players used. It is a style that prefers a fixed batting order, but it is knowing that it is an emergency situation. Even ahead of the game on the 18th, hitting coach Hong Se-wan joined the first team and started helping hitting coach Lee Bum-ho.
Even so, if there is no sign of a rebound, you can think of a way to make changes to the roster itself. Since the mound is thick, you can try trading to reinforce the other line. The KIA mound with many left-handed pitchers is quite attractive. However, trading does not happen overnight. The gap of the leader cannot be ignored.
Then, as a last resort, it is worth considering a way to reverse the atmosphere by putting batters with good hitting feel in the 1st team in the 2nd team. Basically, the 1st team coach receives reports from the 2nd team coaches and staff on the performance and condition of the 2nd team players. You can get a recommendation from the 2nd group, or the 1st team coach can pick you up.
As for a player who can rise from the 2nd team to the 1st team, Kim Seok-hwan (24), a left-handed giant gun prospect, should be considered the first priority. Looking at the KBO’s 2nd division registration and cancellation status on the 18th, Kim Seok-hwan has been canceled. It is not known whether he will rise to the first team right away, but it is not strange at all to take out the Kim Seok-hwan card, which has one shot, in a situation where he is sluggish in scoring position.
Kim Seok-hwan was the man of the spring of 2022. He caught the attention of coach Kim Jong-guk by fluttering in spring camp practice games and demonstration games. He received a chance as the main left fielder for a month from the opening game, but in the end he could not break through the wall of the first team. He has not been able to hatch an egg after joining in the 2017 2nd 3rd round with the 24th rank.
This season, not only in spring training games but also in demonstration games, he went 24 at bats, 3 hits, batting average of 0.125, 1 home run, 3 RBIs and 3 runs in 11 games, which was not good. As Byun Woo-hyuk flew wildly, he had no choice but to drop out of the opening entry. However, Kim Seok-hwan has prepared steadily in his own way in the second group. 0.263 batting average, 2 homers, 5 RBIs, 7 runs, 0.817 OPS in 11 Futures League games.안전놀이터
Kim Seok-hwan is a player who can play both first base and outfield. Its uses are wide. His first base defense was even publicly praised by manager Kim Jong-guk. When will you be on the 1st team? It is entirely a decision by director Kim Jong-guk.