The morning dawned for 1,083 people who had spent a sleepless night.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will hold the 2024 KBO rookie draft at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul from 2 p.m. on the 14th. Officials from 10 teams and players’ families, as well as 100 baseball fans selected through advance application on the KBO website, will watch the draft on site.
Like last year, this draft will be held in a full draft format. Nominations will be made in a total of 11 rounds, and will be conducted in the reverse order of last season’s final rankings: Hanwha Eagles – Doosan Bears – Lotte Giants – Samsung Lions – NC Dinos – KIA Tigers – KT Wiz – LG Twins – Kiwoom Heroes – SSG Landers.
According to KBO baseball rules, in the event of a trade, the club is allowed to exchange the next year’s drafting rights for a player. In the case of Kiwoom, which received the drafting rights in a previous trade, LG, KIA, and Samsung can exercise the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round drafting rights, respectively, and NC can acquire one more player with the 7th round drafting rights held by Hanwha. You can.
There are a total of 1,083 people eligible for this year’s rookie draft, including 782 high school graduates, 296 college graduates (including 41 early draftees), and 5 other players, including overseas amateurs and pros. Through the ‘Early Draft System’ that has been implemented since last year, second-year players at four-year universities (including three-year universities) can also participate in the draft.메이저사이트
being ranked first? It seems highly likely that left-hander Hwang Jun-seo (Jangchung High School), who has been attracting attention as the ‘biggest high school player’ for several months, will become the protagonist.
Hwang Jun-seo, who showed off his potential since his freshman and sophomore years, recorded 6 wins, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 2.16 in 15 games and 49⅔ innings at the high school stage this year. His strikeouts and walks were 58 and 16, respectively, and he was evaluated as a pitcher who can show off sophisticated pitch control along with heavy pitching. He guarded the mound at Jangchung High School along with Dong-wook Jo, Seon-yeop Yook, Yun-ha Kim, and Jong-hae Won.
However, it is also observed that the poor performance in the most recently held international competition could be a variable. At this year’s World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) World Youth Baseball Championship (U-18 Baseball World Cup), Hwang Jun-seo left behind expectations with 3 games, 12⅓ innings, 1 win, 2 losses, and an average ERA of 3.97. He suffered losses in both games in which he started, leaving behind regret.
In comparison, right-hander Kim Taek-yeon (Incheon High School) showed off his power at the U-18 Baseball World Cup, earning 2 wins in 6 games, 16 innings, and an ERA of 0.88, striking out as many as 29 times. Although he was at the center of controversy over overuse while playing ‘5 consecutive fights’, he achieved results that exceeded expectations by showing off his abilities to the fullest on the international stage. It is clear that the atmosphere of ‘of course the first place in the draft will belong to Hwang Jun-seo’ has changed since the competition.
Now, the only choice left is Hanwha, which has the ‘first round first pick’. It is certain that the player who was not selected first among the two pitchers will head to Doosan, where he is awaiting the ‘second pick in the first round’.
The team that can influence the game in the early stages of the draft is, of course, Kiwoom. On November 11 of last year, they traded catcher Joo Hyo-sang and a second-round pick through a trade with KIA, and on April 27 of this year, they traded pitcher Kim Tae-hoon through a trade with Samsung and acquired veteran infielder Lee Won-seok and a third-round pick.
A particularly eye-catching trade was the one with LG on July 29th. At that time, Kiwoom sent Choi Won-tae, the team’s main pitcher, to LG and acquired pitcher Kim Dong-gyu, fielder Lee Ju-hyung, who can defend the infield and outfield, and a first-round pick. As the team was having difficulties due to Lee Jeong-hoo’s injury, most of the evaluations were that the trade was focused on the future rather than the present.
While this season’s ranking fell to the bottom, Kiwoom, which has steadily accumulated nomination rights, was able to nominate as many as 6 players out of 30 players in the 1st to 3rd rounds this year. Currently, it is expected that pitchers with good reviews will be selected in higher rounds than in previous years. It remains to be seen whether Kiwoom, who has six draft picks, will focus on reinforcing the mound or whether he will come up with an unexpected strategy. Depending on what strategy is adopted, other teams’ movements may also vary.
Basically, every team comes to the draft site with some level of planning, but the strategy may change depending on the progress. Last year, Park Myung-geun (LG) was a representative example. He was not selected in the first round or the second round, and when he was sent down to the third round, LG did not miss out and reached out to Park Myung-geun. It was a ‘luck’ that the club had never imagined.
There is no law preventing scenes like this from appearing again. Some players may be named early, and some players, like Park Myung-geun, may be named later than expected. Since each club can request time and have a brief discussion, they cannot let go of tension until the draft is over.
What kind of results will the 10 clubs, who had intense discussions with the scouting team, high-ranking officials, and training teams every day, conclude the draft with? The fateful hour is getting closer.