"Because Japanese pitchers are so good. I watched it carefully from playing catch."

Doosan Bears right-hander Kim Yu-sung (21) has emerged as a candidate for the next starting pitcher. Kim Yu-sung stood out at the 2023 Phoenix Education League held in Miyazaki, Japan from the 9th to the 30th of last month. In four games, he pitched 15 innings with a 0.60 ERA. He showed weakness in his control in the first division this year, and in the educational league, he showed a step up in pitching, striking out 14 and giving up only six walks. He threw fastballs, sliders, forkballs, and curves, and his maximum fastball speed was 150km.

While attending Korea University, Kim Yoo-sung participated in the 2023 Rookie Draft Early Draft and wore Doosan's uniform with 19th place in the second round. Doosan evaluated Kim Yu-sung as an immediate power and hoped that it would be a great help to reinforce the mound, but the contents of the debut season were not very good. He pitched in relief in seven games in the first division, and pitched six ⅓ innings and an ERA of 9.95 to swallow his disappointment. He had no more chances in the first division as his control faltered enough to give up 12 walks while striking out six.

In the meantime, the experience of the Japanese education league has become a great asset for Kim Yu-sung. All Doosan officials who watched Kim Yu-sung's pitch in Japan praised him, saying, "I'm looking forward to next year more." Most of the respondents said that Doosan's own MVP was Kim Yu-sung. At the current pace, he is considered a candidate for next season's selection.

Kim Yu-sung, who met at Icheon Bears Park on the 4th, said about his educational league performance, "I threw it as usual, but I was lucky. There is no significant change in form, but changing the grip to control the breaking ball has improved. Unlike Korean hitters, Japanese batters cut a lot and hit short to get on base at bat. There was nothing else other than that, so I thought we should throw it as we threw it," he said.

"Since Japanese batters cut a lot, you have to pay more attention to breaking balls, direct ball tunneling, or points to get batters' swings," he continued. I tried to pay more attention, and I think that's good."

As it was the first time facing Japanese professional baseball players, I tried to see and learn more inside and outside the stadium. Kim Yu-sung said, "I felt a lot when I saw Japanese pitchers. Japanese pitchers are so good that I watched the catch carefully. I think I looked carefully at the pitching tempo and how to run the mound. I think I have grown further because I have learned and felt a lot. I knew what was lacking, and I knew how to manage it," he explained. 먹튀검증

This season was full of regret. Kim Yoo-sung said, "I felt that I should show good performance in the first division, so I felt a lot of pressure, and there were many bad games because I had a lot of strength. I thought a lot that I shouldn't do this when I get into the next season. I also realized that the wall of professionals is higher than I thought. There is a big difference in the batters' ability to select the first and second groups, and the strike zone should be considered according to the referee's tendency. First-tier hitters also have different swings. I will prepare well during the off-season and try to play in Jamsil next year," he vowed.

In order to compete for selection, he stressed that he should pay more attention to his control of breaking balls. Kim Yu-sung said, "The starting pitchers are so good right now. Rather than thinking that he should start, he should sharpen his skills so that he can play in many games in any position so that he can be in the first division next year. "Since there are bad days for fastballs, I can only use them if I can control them well, regardless of the breaking ball," he said, vowing to try to improve his skills during the finishing camp.

This year, I have never been able to work with Yang Eui-ji, the master of the room. Next year, he will be able to play full-time in the first division and form a battery with Korea's best catcher.

Kim Yoo-sung said, "I want to work with Yang Eui-ji next year, and my first goal is to throw a lot of innings in the first division. I haven't calculated the exact number of innings, but I'll try to throw a lot of innings in the first division all year round," he said emphatically.