SUN’s highly touted first-round pick makes his first start of the season on Thursday…”I’d rather give him a chance to start than the bullpen”
Kim Ki-hoon, a left-hander from KIA’s first nomination, praised by former national baseball team coach Sun Dong-ryul, will take on the starting role. The stage will be against Lotte in Gwangju on the 14th.
After watching Kim Ki-hoon’s pitching, who just made his professional debut during the Okinawa camp in Japan in February 2019, former head coach Sun Dong-ryul said, “I was surprised. He’s only 19 years old now, and I’m looking forward to seeing him throw it. I thought he was a very promising player. I’m throwing it so well, so do you have any advice. Seeing him throw, I think he will do his part in the first division if he doesn’t get injured,” he praised.스포츠토토
Kim Ki-hoon has played as a pitching agent in the first division this season and has a 3.45 ERA with two wins and no losses in 28 games. Having consistently played the starting rotation for the Futures, he pitched well against Sangmu on the 8th, his last appearance, with two hits, two walks, three strikeouts and no runs in six innings. The fastball reached a maximum of 146 kilometers, and the total number of pitches was 77. The breaking ball mixed the slider and the change-up.
Ahead of the away game against Samsung at Daegu Samsung Lions Park on the 12th, head coach Kim Jong-kook said, “Kim Ki-hoon will start the game on Thursday (14th). He started in Sangmu last year and has been increasing the number of pitches (as a starter) for Futures. He decided that it was right to give him a chance as a starter rather than a bullpen. He said, “I have experience in starting, so I have to give him a chance.”
He then said, “Future’s performance (two wins in eight games, an undefeated ERA of 2.28) is good, but the first division and Futures are different. I hope you play as long innings as possible and prevent them with a minimum loss. “If I show a good pitch this time, I will go longer next time,” he added.
Right-hander Hwang Dong-ha pitched well with four hits, one walk, two strikeouts and two runs in 4⅓ innings against the leading LG on the 9th. Head coach Kim Jong-kook said, “I threw well against the No. 1 team, but I have to give him a chance. “Kim Geon-guk, who was eliminated from the first-tier entry, will be deployed in 10 days according to the situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, KIA tied the batting order with shortstop Park Chan-ho, third baseman Kim Do-young, second baseman Kim Sun-bin, designated hitter Choi Hyung-woo, right fielder Socrates, left fielder Lee Woo-sung, first baseman Hwang Dae-in, catcher Kim Tae-gun and center fielder Choi Won-joon.