The demonstration game held prior to the opening of the regular season of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ was an opportunity for newcomers to show off their presence ahead of their professional debut. In particular, the biggest checkpoint of this exhibition match was whether the large rookies nominated in the top round of the new draft, which was conducted as a full-scale draft for the first time in 10 seasons since the 2013 season, were active. Excluding Cheol-Won Jeong (Doosan Bears) last year, Jeong-Hoo Lee (Kiwoom Heroes) in 2017, Baek-Ho Kang (KT Wiz) in 2018, Woo-Young Jung (LG Twins) in 2019, Joon So-Jun (KT) in 2020, Eui-Ri Lee (KIA Tigers) in 2021 For five years in a row, pure rookies have been honored only once in their lives. This trend is also one of the reasons why the eyes are focused on the new faces who have just joined.
In this year’s demonstration game, there were many rookies who stood out on the mound. Representative examples are Kim Seo-hyun (Hanwha Eagles) and Yoon Young-chul (KIA), who received the first and second overall picks in the first round of the rookie draft. Kim Seo-Hyun showed good results with 3 holds and an ERA of 1.80 in 5 games of demonstration games, with a fastball in the mid-150 km/h range. He gave up 6 walks in 5 innings and left assignments, but there was no shortage of potential to be recognized. Yun Yeong-cheol started in two games (8.2 innings) and was not allowed a single point, receiving a lot of attention. He immediately jumped into the competition for the 5th selection.
It’s not just these. Song Young-jin,먹튀검증 who was nominated by SSG Landers in the 2nd round (15th overall), showed off the dignity of the ‘Ace of Daejeon High School’. He pitched well with 1 win, 1 hold and 1.50 ERA in 4 games. Park Myeong-geun, who wore an LG uniform in the 3rd round (27th overall), also emerged as a first-team powerhouse with a unique pitching form and quick slide step. Lee Ro-un (SSG) and Lee Ho-seong (Samsung Lions), ranked 5th overall, also gave the green light to entry into the opening entry with aggressive pitching as a stepping stone.
Among the batters, infielder Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha), who was selected in the second round (11th overall), stood out. He raised expectations with 10 hits in 29 at-bats (0.345 batting average) and 2 RBIs in 13 games. Kim Min-seok (Lotte Giants), who ranked third overall, the highest among fielders, also accepted a decent report card with 6 hits in 22 at-bats (0.273 batting average) and 2 RBIs in 12 games.