"I have experience playing shortstop as an amateur. It could be an option."

Kiwoom Heroes head coach Hong Won-ki said this to Jang Jae-young ahead of Game 14 of the season against the Samsung Lions of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 29th.

Jang Jae-young felt pain in his right leg during defense in the sixth inning against KT Wiz in Gocheok on July 17. He was diagnosed with muscle damage in his right thigh after a checkup. Afterwards, he focused on rehabilitation and made his comeback through games against Hanwha Futures at Seosan Stadium on Aug. 27 and 28.

"Jang Jae-young completed his rehabilitation process well. Now, we will gradually increase his intensity and set the time for call-up," Hong said. "If he says he is okay, he will upload it. We need a lot of experience this season. We need to upload it before it's too late."
Jang Jae-young, a native of Deoksu High School, joined the 2021 Rookie Draft Heroes with a down payment of 900 million won, the second-largest in KBO League history. Jang Jae-young, who was expected to be a fastball fireballer, failed to show any significant performance in the first team due to difficulties in controlling the ball. In addition to the elbow pain, he took the path of a batter, not a pitcher, in May.

In his debut match against the Cheongju Hanwha Eagles on Tuesday, he doubled Moon Dong-ju's 154km fastball, which surprised everyone. He also garnered his debut home run against Aaron Wilkerson, a "sajik Jesus" by hitting a 125m home run. He has played in 17 games for the first team, and his batting average has remained at 0.213 (10 hits in 47 times at bat), but he is adapting faster than expected.

"Since debuting as a batter in Cheongju, I have been adapting relatively quickly. Of course, I have to overcome certain gaze and evaluation by myself. If I finish this season well, I think I will look forward to next season again," Hong said.

Though Jang has been watching outfield defense for quick adaptation, he has always expressed his desire to play shortstop. "Jang Jae-young expressed his will to challenge shortstop during the meeting with the team, and the team has also decided to respect the player's will. However, considering the future of the team and the growth potential of the players, we will also prepare a training for center field that the team has proposed," a Kiwoom official once said.

However, Coach Hong said in the beginning of his conversion to the batter, "If you see an infielder, you have to play defense first. Because of the high number of pitches you throw, you can strain your arm. Once you play outfield, you have to align yourself with what you want and what direction the club suggests. If you want to play in the first team quickly, you should start as an outfielder rather than an infielder."

What do you think now.

"Greedy for shortstop was my personal opinion," Hong said with a smile. "I think there are steps to adapt to the situation. Of course, I started the season as an outfield player to help him adapt quickly to hitting and defense, but I am not sure how he will change during the final training sessions in winter based on this season. It could be an option. He played shortstop as an amateur player. He has capability. We will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the training course in winter, and we may have another option. We will leave open the possibility to him."

"Of course, I'm not thinking about the elbow situation. However, throwing a ball on the mound is different from throwing a ball on the defense. The mound must throw 100 percent of the time. Fielders can control their strength and weakness even if they throw more times. There can be sufficient changes," he added.
Meanwhile, Kiwoom that lost the Winning Series to Samsung will play in the order of Lee Ju-hyung (center fielder), Kim Hye-sung (second baseman), Song Sung-moon (designated hitter), Choi Joo-hwan (first baseman), Byun Sang-ok (left fielder), Won Sung-joon (right fielder), Kim Gun-hee (possession), Kim Tae-jin (fielders), and Ko Young-woo (third baseman). Jongmin Lee, who was the starting pitcher on the previous day, went down and Yoon Jeong-hyun came up.

The starting pitcher is Ha Young-min. He has nine wins, six losses and an earned run average of 4.21 in 23 games this season. His first attempt at 10 wins since his debut. He has lost one game in the match against Samsung. At the Gocheok Stadium on April 28, he showed sluggish performance by allowing seven hits, three strikeouts, four strikeouts, and six runs (five earned runs) in 3.1 innings.

BY: 토토사이트 추천