The KBO League is now a market that Major League scouts cannot neglect. After the success of Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto), there was a widespread perception that “the top players in the KBO League have the ability to work in the Major League.” On top of that, foreign players who have honed their skills in the KBO League are also subject to observation.
There are many better cases of “performance-to-price ratio” than those found in the U.S. or Japan. Ryu Hyun-jin was not that expensive when he entered the LA Dodgers, and Kang Jung-ho, Kim Kwang-hyun, and recent Kim Ha-sung also signed contracts at relatively low prices and hit the jackpot. There are cases of failure, but it is an attractive market. Eric Thames, Meryl Kelly, and Brooks Raley are among the greatest export figures. 스포츠토토
Usually, KBO leagues are often viewed by East Asian scouts with Japan, but some clubs allocate personnel so that only KBO can be viewed a little deeper. And this year, it was predicted that such scouts’ steps would continue to be all-time high. This is because there are more “players to watch.” Interest has also increased as young talents representing the KBO League have been widely introduced to the United States.
Right now, Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom) was planning to enter the Major League through a posting system (closed competitive bidding) at the end of this season. Major League teams have largely finished evaluating Lee Jung-hoo. Nevertheless, a procession of scouts continued at the beginning of the season to check “how much Lee Jung-hoo has developed and how much he is making up for his weaknesses.” While watching Lee Jung-hoo, I also noticed other players checking together. Ahn Woo-jin and Kim Hye-sung, his teammates, are representative.
However, all of a sudden, Major League scouts’ work was cut off. Of course, not a few scouts are still going around the KBO field without knowing it. However, it is clear that there are fewer observations or fewer opportunities to write impressive reports.
There are several young players selected by Major League club scouts as talents to advance to the Major League in the future. Lee Jung-hoo is a good example. Ahn Woo-jin, Ko Woo-suk, Jung Woo-young (LG), So Hyung-joon (kt) and Won Tae-in (Samsung) will be selected from the mound. Kang Baek-ho (kt) and Kim Hye-sung (Kium) are the players who have consistently attracted attention in the batting line. However, many players disappeared due to sluggishness or injuries.
First of all, Lee Jung-hoo himself, who drew the most attention, was virtually out of the season due to an ankle injury. This is where Major League scouts express regret. The data on Lee Jung-hoo is full, but it is clear that the last chance to inspect it was missed. Ahn Woo-jin, who also consistently drew attention from major league clubs, also disappeared from view as elbow surgery was decided. Ahn Woo-jin also needs to solve military service. Observations are more likely to go to a longer-term war than expected. So Hyung-joon, whose hand sensation was drawing attention, left after undergoing elbow surgery early.
Ko Woo-suk, who is considered the best bullpen pitcher in the KBO League and has the potential of a leading setup man in the Major League, is also not as good as before. It has emerged as an unexpected popular sale as there is not much time left until the posting application, but injuries such as shoulders before the season definitely affected the start of the season. He has a 3.47 ERA in 38 games of the season. He jumped more than his ERA last year (1.48).
Sidearm Jung Woo-young, who is considered more likely to succeed than Ko Woo-suk among some scouts, is also jagged throughout this year. Jung Woo-young, who has recorded an ERA of two points in 137 games over the past two years, has only a 4.63 ERA in 53 games this year. The first and second groups are in and out, but the restraint and balance of good times are still there. Scouts’ assessments are also bound to be confusing.
Kang Baek-ho, who drew attention with his different charm from Lee Jung-hoo, is also not in good shape throughout the season. Until this point in September, he has played 57 games. Her performance (OPS of 0.744) also dropped sharply. In the meantime, Kim Hye-sung, who was greatly influenced by Kim Ha-sung’s success, is emerging as a blue chip, but the evaluation is still mixed due to the lack of long shots.