In the 2023 professional baseball rookie draft, large pitchers who dominated the high school stage poured out. Seohyun Kim from Seoul High School, Yeongchul Yoon from Chungam High School, Youngwoo Shin from Gyeongnam High School, and Roun Lee from Daegu High School, all with outstanding qualities, confidently challenged themselves to the professional stage. In baseball, which is called ‘pitcher play’, interest was in which club they would be selected.

Hanwha, who had the first nomination right, chose Kim Seo-hyun, and KIA, who had the second choice, chose Yun Young-cheol. However, 3rd place Lotte made an extraordinary choice. He chose Kim Min-seok (19), an outfielder at Whimoon High School, not a pitcher. NC then recruited Shin Young-woo, followed by SSG, who recruited Lee Ro-un. There were some unexpected glances towards Lotte, who chose a fielder rather than a pitcher, but the club believed in Kim Min-seok’s quick feet and contact ability, and they joined him in the spring camp before the opening, raising high expectations.

Lotte high school rookie Kim Min-seok is sharing joy with his teammates at the dugout after scoring the first goal in the game against Hanwha at Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 16th. Courtesy of Lotte Giants
After completing the adaptation period in April, Kim Min-seok began to bring out his talents. Kim Min-seok made a big success with 3 hits and 2 steals in 5 at-bats in an away game against Hanwha held at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park on the 16th. Kim Min-seok, who started as a lead-off center fielder that day, went to base in the first inning with a ball that hit his body, stole second base, and scored the first run by stepping on the groove when An Chi-hong hit. Lotte took a 1-0 lead until the 7th inning with a score made by Kim Min-seok’s foot, and Kim Min-seok played his first 4 on-base game in this game.카지노사이트

Kim Min-seok, who had just graduated from high school, needed time to adapt. Kim Min-seok had only 0.196 batting average with 11 hits in 56 at-bats in April. However, Kim Min-seok recorded a batting average of 0.344 by hitting 11 hits in 32 at-bats in May, raising his batting average to 0.255 for the season. Kim Min-seok, who is also active in base run play, has stolen bases 5 times and is currently ranked 10th in the league with SSG Choo Shin-soo and Samsung Koo Ja-wook. Thanks to Kim Min-seok’s performance, Lotte is continuing its upward trend with 6 wins and 3 losses in May.

Expectations for Kim Min-seok have also risen. After Lee Dae-ho left, Lotte’s uniform sales number one was Kim Min-seok, not Han Dong-hee or Na Kyun-an. If Kim Min-seok overcomes the great interest and continues the May-like atmosphere, the rookie king from Lotte, which was cut off after Yeom Jong-seok in 1992, could become a reality, not a dream.