The return of left-handed pitcher Lee Sang-young (23) is a “crisis” for Kim Yun-sik (23, LG Twins), who even wore the Taegeuk mark.
Lee Sang-young was discharged on the 12th. The return of Lee Sang-young, who served in the Sangmu Baseball Team (Army Army Sports Corps), is one of the good news that LG has been waiting for. From the beginning of the season, LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop consistently announced the possibility of Lee Sang-young being appointed to the first team. As he digested the starting rotation in the Sangmu baseball team, he immediately judged that he was inferior to him with a sense of power.
Lee Sang-young, who graduated from Busan High School, was nominated as the 5th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2019 rookie draft. In 2021, he went back and forth between the starter and the bullpen, appearing in 21 games (9 starting games) and digesting a total of 50 innings. He did not firmly establish himself in the first team, but his performance on the Sangmu baseball team improved significantly. He won 10 wins (3 losses) in the 2nd team last year, and this season, he ran at the top of the 2nd team’s most wins (8 wins) before being discharged. Excluding one game in which he conceded a lot (6 runs against the Doosan Bears on May 4), his ERA in the second group went down from 2.63 to 1.76.
The difference in league level between the 1st and 2nd teams is huge. Even if they do well in the Sangmu baseball team, there are not a few players who sweat in the first team. However, LG expects that Lee Sang-young’s ups and downs will not be significant. That much he was steady in the 2nd team. He was responsible for at least 5 innings in all 9 games he appeared in. Director Yeom Gyeong-yeop once said, “I want him to settle down as the 4th starter” for Lee Sang-young. This is a glimpse into the level of expectations within the team. It is for this reason that he confirmed the match against the Samsung Lions in Jamsil on the 14th, two days after his discharge, as his comeback match.
Lee Sang-young’s joining coincided with Kim Yun-shik’s departure. Kim Yun-sik, who was the third starter for the opening game, was excluded from the first team entry on the 9th. This is because he was sluggish with 12 hits and 7 runs in 5 innings against Kiwoom Heroes on the 8th. It is the first time since his debut in 2020 that he allowed 12 hits in one game. The 7 earned runs was also a record for the most in one game in disgrace.
Yunsik Kim, the national representative of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), has been sluggish throughout the season. He posted a 5.29 earned run average in 11 appearances. He won eight victories last year and had the solidity to secure the third starting spot. At first it seemed that time would solve it. This is because preparation for the season was not smooth as he was concentrating on the WBC.
In early May, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop also said, “Looking at Yoon-shik’s physical condition, he has (now) built a body to start the season. I think so,” he encouraged. However, even after that, he could not produce a satisfactory report card.안전놀이터
Kim Yun-sik has already given up the third starting spot to Lim Chan-gyu. If Lee Sang-young, the same left-handed pitcher, becomes the 4th starter, his position will inevitably be narrowed even more. The point of Kim Yun-sik’s rebound that director Yeom Gyeong-yeop picked was ‘the ball’. It is up to the player to prove his competitiveness.