It has come too far to go against the rule of thumb. Lotte Giants pitcher Kim Jin-wook (23) is desperately trying to settle down in the starting lineup. Even big leaguers wanted to learn know-how from "Monster" Ryu Hyun-jin (38, Hanwha), who knocked him down like a fall foliage. 바카라사이트

Kim Jin-wook, a special left-hander who was designated as the first overall pick in the second round of the rookie draft in 2021, has performed worse than expected until the third season of the 2023 season. In the process, he tried to establish an inflection point such as joining the military athletic team, but it was not easy. Expectations were lower than before in the 2024 season. Kim Tae-hyung, who took the helm, did not have deep faith in Kim Jin-wook. Kim did not get a passing score due to his previous performances and performance in the training process.

Then, last year, he steadily took lessons in the second division, not the first division. After showing significant performance as a starter in the second division, he waited for a call-up in the first division, and Kim Tae-hyung called up Kim Jin-wook in mid-May. While the starting lineup was struggling due to poor performance due to injury, he continued his growth in the second division. He finished the game as a starting pitcher in the first division, recording four wins and three losses with an ERA of 5.31 (50 earned runs in 84 ⅔ innings), 87 strikeouts, 44 walks, and WHIP 1.57. Not a great job. However, he clearly showed his potential as a starting pitcher, and completing the first division was a good outcome.

However, Kim Jin-wook has prepared to join the military service in Sangmu. Since his growth as a promising player was stagnant, he had thoughts about resolving military service, but things did not go his way. Then, he finally passed the military service last year. He left the best record since his debut as a pro player, but he still has regrets about joining Sangmu. He also had elbow pain, and the club continued in-depth discussions. It is up to the player himself to make the choice. Kim Jin-wook has decided to prepare for the starting lineup once again in the first division, instead of joining the military in Sangmu.

Kim Jin-wook's preparation for the starting pitcher at Taiwan's Tainan 1st spring camp was not smooth. Ten days earlier than usual, he had two warm-up matches against the Taiwanese national team, which is preparing for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) qualifying round, and took the mound as a starting pitcher in the second round match held on Wednesday. However, Kim was substituted after allowing one run on two hits and three walks in one inning. He seemed to have lost his pace properly. "It was my first time taking the mound, and I was more nervous than I expected," Kim said.

However, he pitched as the team's third pitcher at the last practice game of the Taiwan camp against the Zhongxin Brothers on Wednesday, and pitched two innings of two walks, two strikeouts and no runs. His fastball speed, which had been limited to 139 kilometers at the practice game with the Taiwanese national team, reached the maximum of 141 kilometers on the day. He seems to be gaining pace little by little. Kim Jin-wook's build-up as a starting pitcher will continue in warm-up matches with the Gucun League and the Chiba Lotte Marines at the second camp in Miyazaki, Japan. 

The peculiarity of the game was the distribution of Kim Jin-wook's pitches. He threw 15 fastballs, nine sliders, eight curveballs, and four changeups. Kim continued to compete with batters by playing breaking ball games, including sliders and curves, on top of his fastball pitching capabilities. He displayed no ratio of changeups, which allowed batters to lose timing and weak pitches, and folk ball games, which allowed him to throw weak pitches. He acquired a new folk ball last year and threw it literally. He was not good enough to compete with batters.

However, it is different this year. He has steadily prepared since last year. He started the game with Ryu Hyun-jin, a change-up master who commanded the Major League Baseball as well. "I threw a fork ball last year, but I didn't know where to throw the ball. Last year, I felt like throwing it to luck. If the result was good, it was inevitable," he recalled. "However, when I threw the change-up as it was, I could feel it was good. I knew the point to a certain extent."

Ryu Hyun-jin was the master of changeups. Choi Jeon Seong-ki, who ranked No. 1 in ERA (2.32) and No. 2 in voting for the Cy Young Award when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019, and Ryu defeated the world's best hitters with a cutter and changeup. As of "Fangraph," Ryu ranked No. 1 in changeup per 100 pitches in the entire Major League with a pitch value of 3.77. It was the kind of pitch that gave Ryu his current career. 

Kim Jin-wook carefully visited Ryu Hyun-jin at an away game in Daejeon at the end of last year's season and asked about his secret to change-up. "I asked Ryu Hyun-jin how to throw change-up in the final showdown against Hanwha." Kim Jin-wook said, "I was going to prepare to throw change-up, and I was going to go and ask a good left-handed pitcher. So I went to Ryu Hyun-jin and asked him to get a hint," he said. "I thought it would be nice to have a chance to ask, but he taught me really well. I got a good hint. I think I asked him various things for about 10 minutes how to throw slow curves, control power, slider and so on to change-up."

He is eagerly preparing for the year 2025 and is committed to not falling behind in the starting lineup competition. Manager Kim Tae-hyung has been agonizing over the starting lineup. This is why Kim Jin-wook's performance is important. As he has withdrawn his enlistment in Sangmu, he is important to both Kim Jin-wook and Lotte. "I played as a starting pitcher last year, but I didn't think of him as a starting pitcher because he is not perfect yet. We prepared the same way, and as the same competitor, I prepared to show better performance than other pitchers," Kim Jin-wook said. 

Still, he is seeking know-how by preparing for selection in the second and first teams last year. "Since I was preparing as a starter last year, I think I know how to prepare. I feel like I'm organizing while thinking about my routine," he said. "I'm asking (Park) Se-woong a lot," he added. "A player has to manage his physical stamina, but he needs to reduce the number of pitches per game to reduce fatigue that accumulates over the course of the season.