Can all the young national team players who participated in the 2023 World Baseball Classic go to the Hangzhou Asian Games?
The KBO assembled a 30-member national team with the best power in Korea and the United States at the WBC held in March. They were only selected based on their skills, and there were some top players such as Kim Gwang-hyeon (SSG Landers) and Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers), but there were also young players with 2-3 years of experience, such as Lee Eui-ri (KIA) Sohn Joon-jun (KT Wiz) Kim Yun-shik (LG Twins).
Of the 30 WBC national team members, a total of 14 players are included in the preliminary list for the Asian Games. There are 10 pitchers, 2 infielders and 2 outfielders. Among them, Park Se-woong (Lotte) and Koo Chang-mo (NC) are wild cards.
There is no guarantee that a member selected for the WBC team will also be selected for the Asian Games team. This is because the national team selects players who are good at the present. The WBC national team was also selected based on the results of 2022, so the Hangzhou Asian Games are also selected based on this year’s performance.
There are some pitchers who struggle. Ko Woo-seok suffered a shoulder injury right before the WBC tournament, and because of that, he returned to the regular league 3 weeks late. And he was excluded from the 1st team again due to back pain on the 1st. LG side judges that Ko Woo-seok should wait for about 3 weeks before throwing again in the 1st team. Ko Woo-seok’s current performance is 6 games, 1 win, 1 loss, 2 saves, and an average ERA of 6.35.
Last year’s hold king, Jung Woo-young (LG), is also experiencing ups and downs. He had difficulties in the first ball, and his speed, which was in the mid-150 km range last year, also fell to the 140 km range. In addition, he has time to adapt to the new Jung Woo-young by adjusting the quick motion that has been highlighted since last year and changing the pitch design. He has 3 losses, 6 holds, and an earned run average of 4.22 in 13 appearances.
Kim Yun-sik, who emerged as the left-handed ace of LG in the second half of last year and even rose to the national team, has yet to show the solidity of last year. He has a 4.05 earned run average with 2 wins and 1 loss in 5 games.
Joon Sohn left due to an arm injury after the first appearance of the opening game, but returned on the 3rd against SSG Landers and made a successful comeback with 5 innings and 1 run. If KT coach Lee Kang-cheol gives a good evaluation and continues good pitching for the rest of the period, he may be able to secure a place in the national team.
Even after the WBC, Kwak Bin seems to be firmly establishing himself as Doosan’s domestic ace with good pitching. He went 3-1 in 5 games with an ERA of 0.88.
Last year’s rookie of the year, Jeong Cheol-won, was cruising with an average ERA of 2.65 with 3 wins, 1 loss and 5 holds in 15 games 크크크벳.
On the other hand, Park Se-woong is sluggish. He has only lost one in five games and has an earned run average of 5.25. He has never pitched more than 6 innings and only had 5 innings twice. A rebound in May is essential.
The same goes for Gu Chang-mo. He is 2 losses with no wins and a 3.82 earned run average. On April 15, SSG showed no runs in 8⅔ innings, but on April 27, after the perfect march was broken, the KIA match gave up 5 points and became a defeat. He is recognized as the pitcher who will inherit the lineage of left-handed aces in Korea.
Eui-ri Lee is also being held back by anxiety. He’s 2-2 with a 2.63 earned run average, but 26 walks in 27⅓ innings isn’t a good look.
Among the four batters, an unexpected person is causing concern. It is Lee Jung-hoo. He always hits well and is recognized as a hitting genius, but this season has been sluggish. I don’t know if the WBC appearance was a problem or the batting form adjustment was a problem, but he only had a batting average of 2.3 and 3 (24 hits in 103 at-bats).
Another genius hitter, Baek-ho Kang, who experienced drastic cuts in his salary due to injuries and sluggishness twice last year, continues to hit hard. Kang Baek-ho, who prepared early this year and completed a lot of training, showed a good hitting feeling in the WBC tournament and is continuing in the regular season. He has been sluggish recently and his batting average has dropped to 2.77 (26 hits in 94 at-bats), but his contribution is high with 4 home runs, 13 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
Kim Hye-seong is the best hitter. He leads the team in steals with a batting average of 3.3 (36 hits in 109 at-bats), eight home runs, and nine stolen bases.
Choi Ji-hoon also showed good batting average (31 hits in 99 at-bats), but is taking a break due to an ankle injury.
If you see players who show injuries or sluggishness, there may be a dropout among them. If you win a gold medal, military service benefits are given, so it is a golden opportunity for those who have not yet served in the military. The experience accumulated after attending the WBC can be a plus factor for them. Can 14 people win all the Asian Games following the WBC? The remaining month or so will decide their fate.