The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 is coming up soon. The Korean national team has also announced its roster for the team. A large number of young players have been selected. “Mrs. Ahn” stands out. Han Jun-su (25) of the Kia Tigers.안전놀이터
Han Jun-su is the first Kia nominee in 2018. He came to the professional league with high expectations, but he didn’t show anything clearly in the early stages of joining the team. He only played in seven games for the first team between 2018 and 2020. He joined the army as an active duty soldier in June 2021, and was discharged in 2022.
There is a saying that goes, “You will change when you return to the military.” Han Jun-su did that. He played in 48 games for the first team in 2023. He posted a batting average of 0.256, two homers and 12 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.684 .
In addition, Han is highly likely to be evaluated as having exploded in 2024. He played 115 games, recorded a batting average of 0.307, seven homers and 41 RBIs, and shot an OPS of 0.807. He split the positions of Kim and catcher. Han Jun-su should be considered one-up when it comes to attack power.
Team Korea catcher Kim Hyung-joon (left) tries the Freddie Freeman tag that rushed home against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Major League Seoul Series at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 18. Photo | Sports Seoul DB
Based on this, he was included in the Premier 12 call-up list. Three players are Han Jun-su, Park Dong-won (LG) and Kim Hyung-joon (NC). Park said, “We don’t need an explanation. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the best catcher this season.
Kim Hyung-joon played as the main catcher at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship last year. He is superior to Park Dong-won in terms of experience in playing in the national team. Park has no experience in playing in the national team yet.
LG catcher Park Dong-won (left) talks with pitcher Lim Chan-kyu in Game 5 of the 2024 KBO semi-playoff against KT at Jamsil Stadium on the 11th. Jamsil | Reporter Choi Seung-seop thunder@sportsseoul.com
Han Jun-su is in a “challenge” situation. Looking at this year’s regular season records alone, there is no reason for Han to lag behind. Kim Hyung-joon recorded 119 regular-season games, a batting average of 0.195, 17 homers and 50 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.658. Excluding home runs, Han Jun-su produced better records.
In terms of WAR (contributing to victory over substitute players), Han Jun-su stands at 1.54 and Kim Hyung-joon at 0.42. It would have been better if Han Jun-su got better in the “all season,” not in the past. They were the same age in 1999. They also joined the pro league in 2018.
Considering their “future resources,” they may be able to recruit both Kim Hyung-joon and Han Jun-su. The possibility cannot be completely ruled out that all three players including Park Dong-won will be wearing the national flag. The Premier 12 will have to play five preliminary matches in Taiwan, and a maximum of four more matches if it moves to Japan. It can be called a “medium-sized match.”
Nothing has been decided yet. First, the Korean Series comes first. It starts on the 21st. There is a very high probability of entering the entry with Kim Tae-gun. If Han Jun-su shows a good performance here, the Taegeuk mark will be closer.