Moon Dong-joo is a rabbit, Kim Seo-hyun is a turtle… 39 years old, 160km, one-two punch? Direction over speed?
“We can’t all be the same.”
Moon Dong-joo (20) is a rabbit and Kim Seo-hyun (19) is a tortoise. Hanwha head coach Choi Won-ho, who has a firm philosophy of developing prospects, said the above before the game against Changwon NC on Sunday. He said that not all prospects are like rabbits.
In his second year, Moon Dong-ju became a homegrown ace by making five starts. In 21 games, he went 8-7 with a 3.38 ERA. His pitches and impact are better than a third starter. Against KT in Daejeon on the 18th, he pitched 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 4 runs (3 earned).
The reason Hanwha is out of last place is that Felix Peña, Ricardo Sanchez, and Moon Dong-joo have been stable in the first through third innings. They are now an indispensable force on the Hanwha mound. Choi explained that his fastball, which sits in the low 150s, and his changeup have improved with each game. The pitch still has its ups and downs, but it doesn’t suddenly fall apart.
Kim Seo-hyun, on the other hand, was sent back to the second team shortly after his starting pitching debut. On the 17th, she gave up three runs on three hits with four walks and one strikeout in two innings against the Changwon NC. He had more balls (24) than strikes (20). He struggled with his pitches in the second inning.
Hanwha also plans to develop Kim Seo-hyun into a starting pitcher. His fastball makes him attractive as a bullpen or closer. However, Choi said, “It’s hard to solve (the pitching difficulties) by having a player with a bad fastball throw short innings.”
Ahead of the game on Sunday, Choi said that it’s hard to use any pitcher in the first team if they can’t throw strikes. He said, “You have to get to that point before you can move on to validating your command. This makes sense. After all, the first team is the stage where you have to produce results.
In Moon Dong-joo’s case, his command is often shaky, but his ability to throw strikes is not. Kim Seo-hyun, however, has yet to prove that he can consistently deliver strikes. Not to mention the instability of her command.
Kim has already been working on his pitching balance through his Futures League starts. He was banned early on for throwing multiple pitches with different arm heights. He ordered her to throw at the highest pitch in her mechanics, but she couldn’t get over the wall in the first team.
That doesn’t mean Choi is impatient. Kim is still just a 19-year-old prospect. He has a long way to go and plenty of time to improve. He’s just not a rabbit. “Not all pitchers can be the same,” he said. “If every rookie grows up to be like Moon Dong-ju, they’ll all be Moon Dong-ju and look up to Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom). The reality is not like that.
Direction is more important than speed. Hanwha has set a firm direction in the development of Kim Seo-hyun. And it is fulfilling it. He’s just growing at a slower pace than Moon Dong-joo. It’s only year one, so there’s no reason to be impatient. Total: 39 years old, 160 kilometers, and a one-two punch that Hanwha fans are excited about, but the dream and reality are different.스포츠토토
Even the so-called top amateur prospects, not to mention left-hander Hwang Jun-seo (Jang Chung-go), who is virtually guaranteed to join the team next year, need time to adjust to the professional system. Choi Won-ho doesn’t give any instructions to the players who play in the second team. He also makes first-team call-up decisions based on reports. This was the case when he was the second team coach, and it’s now firmly established.