LG Twins left-hander Yoon-Sik Kim is on the verge of making his return to the first team.
Selected by LG with the third overall pick in the 2020 second round, Kim made a name for himself last year, going 8-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 23 games and 114⅓ innings. In particular, he pitched flawlessly from September onward, going 4-0 with a 0.79 ERA in 34⅓ innings in six games, which earned him the honor of playing in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March.카지노사이트
However, Kim had a shaky start to the year and struggled in June, going 2-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 10 innings pitched in two games. He was eventually removed from the first team on June 8 against the Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes and focused on conditioning and readjustment in the second team.
After being removed from the roster, Kim Yoon-sik made his first appearance in the Futures League against SSG Landers at Icheon LG Champions Park on June 12, and struggled, giving up five runs on five hits with one walk and one strikeout in one inning. Both the club and the player still needed time.
After not pitching for more than two weeks, Kim Yun-sik made his first start against Icheon Commerce on March 30, giving up two runs on five hits (one home run) in 5⅔ innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Compared to the SSG game, there were improvements in his pitches, especially his changeup. His fastball’s top and average velocity increased to 144 km/h and 141 km/h, respectively.
If all goes according to plan, Kim Yun-sik will make one more start in the Futures League and throw around 90 pitches before being called up to the first team. “He threw on Sunday (March 30), so he’ll throw on Saturday (March 5 against the Ulsan Lotte Giants), and he’ll start next Friday (March 11 against the Jamsil Kiwoom),” LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said of Kim’s comeback plan ahead of the 11th game of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes on April 2.
Foreign pitcher Adam Plutko, who took a break after being diagnosed with COVID-19, resumed working out on the 3rd and is expected to start against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 8th. “We might pull the order to Friday (against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on the 4th), but we don’t want to overdo it without playing or training because we could lose a lot,” said Yeom Kyung-yup.
If Plutko returns, the “foreign one-two punch” of Plutko, Casey Kelly, Choi Won-tae, and Lim Chan-kyu will be more or less complete. The problem is the fifth spot. There are several players in the mix, but the two most talked about are Lee Jung-yong and Lee Ji-gang, who have pitched solidly since being given the opportunity to start.
The jury is still out on who will get the starting spot next week. Whoever does better this week will get the chance. “We’ll see how Lee Jung-yong and Lee Ji-gang pitch this week and pick a good player to start,” said Yeom Kyung-yup.
Lee Min-ho, who won 12 games last year, is also hoping to break into the starting lineup, but the situation is not favorable. He has struggled in the first team this season, going 2-5 with a 5.03 ERA in 19⅔ innings pitched in five games, and hasn’t been in the first team in over a month after being dropped from the roster on June 23. After not appearing in a Futures League game, he made a start against the Sangsang on March 28 and pitched 1 1/3 innings of one-hit ball, striking out one and walking none.
“He’s starting to get into the swing of things, and he’s probably about a term behind Kim Yun-sik,” said Yoon Kyung-yeop, “so it has to be a special situation, like Monday’s game, because the opportunity doesn’t come right away. You have to be ready for it.” The competition for LG’s five starting pitchers is so fierce that even a 10-win pitcher can’t guarantee ‘survival’.