At Sajik Stadium on the 15th, when all the young players from both teams scrambled, Lotte starter Lee Min-seok (20) and SSG starter Song Young-jin (19) received the most attention. Lee Min-seok, who threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 152 km, also attracted attention, but Song Young-jin, who calmly handled Lotte’s veteran hitters, also received a formidable spotlight.
After graduating from Daejeon High School, Song Young-jin, who was nominated in the 2nd round (15th overall) by SSG in the 2023 rookie draft, threw a four-seam fastball with a speed of up to 149 km and a slider in the early 130 km range, blocking two innings with no runs. He showed good form from the Florida spring camp and continues to extend the test period, and on this day, SSG coach Won-Hyung Kim and the coaching staff also drew attention with his impressive pitch.
It was a helmet that gave the impression of being “bold.” The same was true of the interview after the match. Regarding starting his first demonstration game, Song Young-jin said, “I wasn’t as nervous as I thought. Above all, I tried to pitch aggressively.” At the same time, he picked “being able to catch a strike with a breaking ball even with 3B, although it is still lacking a lot,” as his strength. In fact, it is not easy for a rookie to say such a story with tolerable confidence.
SSG director Kim Won-hyung must have seen this interview. Regarding this story ahead of the resignation Lotte game on the 16th, coach Kim smiled and said, “It was like that when I was young.” Coach Kim, a former great pitcher who won 134 wins in the KBO league, also said that he had caught a count by throwing a breaking ball at an unfavorable count when he was a rookie. In his own way, he was confident in his breaking ball.
A prerequisite for that is the catchers’ lead. It is said that the catcher must be well aware of the pitcher’s ability so that he can change the game plan immediately when he requests a breaking ball even in a disadvantageous count or when the pitcher says he is throwing. In that respect, not only Song Young-jin, who threw boldly that day, but also the immediate reaction of catcher Cho Hyeong-woo was praiseworthy. 먹튀검증
Youngjin Song was one of the fastest throwers among the 2023 draft picks. According to the 2022 tally (based on national competitions held at Mokdong Stadium and draft nominees) by ‘Trackman’, which provides tracking data to 9 KBO league clubs, Song Young-jin’s four-seam fastball average speed was 144.6 km, and the highest speed was 148 km. . On average, it was the fourth fastest after Hanwha Kim Seo-hyun (150.8 km), NC Shin Young-woo (146.7 km), and Lee Ro-un (145.2 km), who joined the same team.
Coach Kim thinks that it would be better if the velocity of the slider, one of the most confident curveballs, was raised. But I’m not going to order right now. Coach Kim said, “I’m throwing well, but first of all, making use of my strengths is the priority.” He thinks that it is possible to improve the speed of the slider by 2 to 3 km. There is no need to rush,” he smiled happily.