The potential he showed at the end of last season was continued until this year’s camp and demonstration games. As a result, joining the opening rotation, which he had set as his goal, was virtually confirmed. The winner of the LG 5 selection audition is Kang Hyo-jong (21), a young gun with a right hand.
Kang Hyo-jong started in an exhibition game against KT held in Suwon on the 23rd and threw 54 pitches, giving up 3 hits, 4 walks, 2 runs, 3 strikeouts and 1 run in 4 innings. He recorded a maximum speed of 150km with a fastball, and he actively used the breaking ball as well as the fastball. He showed a variety of ball combinations while steadily inducing a bum hit with a fast and drastically falling curve.
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, he allowed a solo shot to Park Kyung-soo and allowed a run, but in the bottom of the 4th inning with 2 outs and bases loaded, he used the curveball as the deciding ball to avoid an additional run. On the 14th, he gave up 1 run in 7 innings, including the match against Samsung in Daegu. His exhibition game earned run average is 1.29.
After the game, Kang Hyo-jong said, “It’s unfortunate that I hit a home run, but it was nice to be able to overcome various crises today. In particular, I think it was fortunate that he got through the 4th inning walk and fit ball situation.”
The trial run ends here. Kang Hyo-jong’s next schedule is the evaluation match after the demonstration game period. And in the 2023 regular season, he will be on the mound as a starting pitcher. There is a good chance he will play his first game of the season against Gocheok Kiwoom on April 5th or 6th. From the start of the camp, LG planned Kathy Kelly for the opening game and Adam Plutko for the first game of the three-game series during the week, and planned pitching schedules for the starting pitchers.
There is no reason not to join the starting lineup just by looking at pitching. His fastball, slider, and curve pitch are top-notch. In terms of tracking data, it boasts a higher number than Ace Kelly. The system, which was cited as a weakness, is also stabilizing. Last year, coach Kim Gyeong-tae and his pitching form were modified to produce the best results in catching both pitch and pitch.
LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop said,토토사이트 “Hyo-jong throws a curve similar to coach Lee Dae-jin in the past. It’s a fast, sharp curve. The moment it falls out of the hand comes like a fastball, so it is easy for batters to get hit.” Looking back at our team, there is no clear native ace since Bong Joong-geun. I hope that he will come up as the pitcher closest to Bong Joong-geun,” said Kang Hyo-jong in his head as a pillar of LG’s native starters.
Of course, the starting lineup cannot be fixed throughout the season. Above all, LG has a low age range for native starters. Kim Yun-sik, Lee Min-ho, and Kang Hyo-jong are all in their early 20s. So Lim Chan-kyu, Kim Yu-yeong, and Park Myeong-geun stand by. Kim Young-jun, who rotated in the 2nd team last year, can also get a chance to start for the 1st team again. With both plans A and B in place, the best scenario is, of course, the success of the three young guns including Plan A and Kang Hyo-jong.