Next year, Hanwha's native starters...My heart is pounding. "Excited watch."

Next year, Hanwha's native starters...My heart is pounding. "Excited watch."

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Hanwha auditioned for the fourth and fifth starters before Ryu Hyun-jin's return was decided earlier this year. Kim Min-woo, Lee Tae-yang, Kim Ki-joong, and Hwang Jun-seo competed for two positions, including two foreign pitchers and Moon Dong-ju, the first and third starters. There were many candidates, but it was not a sure card. In the case of Kim Min-woo, who was in the season of returning from injury, it was unclear whether he would recover his ball power, and Lee Tae-yang was a pitcher with more bullpen experience than the starter. Kim Ki-joong has left-hander advantage, but he lacked experience in starting rotation, and Hwang Jun-seo was a high school graduate anyway, although he was the No. 1 overall nominee for the rookie draft.

Hanwha recruited Ryu Hyun-jin, who returned from the Major League Baseball, for eight years and 17 billion won, which significantly eased its concern over starting pitchers. Even Ryu and Kim Min-woo, who took the remaining spot in Moon Dong-ju, did not hesitate to recruit starting pitchers in Korea. However, Ryu was the only starting pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles who survived until the end of this season. Kim Min-woo was out of the lineup early in the season due to an elbow injury, and Moon Dong-ju suffered from severe growth. Existing foreign pitchers Felix Peña and Ricardo Sanchez were also disappointed.

In the end, rookie pitchers such as Hwang Joon-seo and Cho Dong-wook had to fill the starting rotation. This season, Hanwha's starting pitchers posted an ERA of 4.95, falling short of the league's average (4.77). Ryu, who is in his late 30s, is the only one who earned 10 wins and 158.1 innings. After the end of the 2024 season, Hanwha set reinforcement of starting pitchers along with infielders as its main FA policy, and recruited Shim Woo-joon, a four-year shortstop from KT, and Eom Sang-baek, a four-year starter from sidearm, 7.8 billion won (6.37 million U.S. dollars).

Some say he is overpaying, but Hanwha's domestic starting lineup, which includes Eom, is in a different starting line from last year. While the closing camp is underway, the team has virtually confirmed its starting lineup, which includes Ryu Hyun-jin, Eom Sang-baek and Moon Dong-ju, excluding two foreign pitchers. Ryu ranked third in earned run average (3.87), following Won Tae-in (3.66), and Son Joo-young (3.81). He is still capable of producing top-class performance in Korea. Eom recorded 13 wins and 10 losses with a 4.88 ERA in 29 games (156.2 innings) this year. Although he is not an ace, he is capable of leading the team in matches against the fourth starting pitcher.

With the addition of Um Sang-baek, Moon has also lightened his heart a little. Moon, who won the Rookie of the Year award last year with eight wins and eight losses and an earned run average of 3.72 in 23 games, has been sluggish this year with seven wins and seven losses and an earned run average of 5.17 in 21 games. Despite the shadow of Ryu Hyun-jin, Moon's responsibilities were not small. If he recovers his original skills by putting down the pressure on his individual and team performance, he will be able to become a pitcher with only five starting points, as was the case with Son Joo-young this season. 메이저사이트

Though he may face certain variables such as injury and poor performance, the starting pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles who is preparing for the next season has surely become solid thanks to his aggressive investment. He has also gained time to plan and prepare for his backup. Kim Min-woo and Hwang Jun-seo, who were considered as starting agents around the same time last year, can take the mound more prepared. The change is by no means a small one.