Early this year, LG Twins’ pitcher made his first move to the Major League. Ko Woo-suk (26), who played as a closing pitcher until last year, signed a contract with the San Diego Padres through a posting system (closed competitive bidding). Following him, another player is looking to the Major League. He is sidearm Jung Woo-young (25) who has been a key bullpen pitcher ever since joining the league.
If Jung wants to challenge the MLB through posting like Ko, he will have to play for two more seasons, including this year. However, it is not very unlikely. Jung has shown his best performance, winning the KBO League hold king in the 2022 season, and thus achieving his dream of becoming a bigger player. 메이저놀이터
Knowing this well, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop is also highly likely to play in the MLB. “He is not a common style in the U.S., but he may be more competitive than Ko,” Yeom said. “Since there is an example of Ko, he will definitely want to challenge himself. The key is to get back to what was best.”
Jung Woo-young has been one of the leading bullpen pitchers in the league since his professional debut. He has consistently harvested more than 20 holds for three seasons since 2020, when he was in his second year as a professional. In 2022, he ranked first in this category with 35 holds. His main weapon is the powerful two-seam fastball. The two-seam fastball, which is in the mid-150km/h range, was excellent in movement and became the core of the LG bullpen.
He has been on a roll since joining the team, but he had a hard time last year. His slide steps started to get twisted as he tried to change his pitching form to fix his slow disadvantages. He made various efforts to regain power by adding pitches during the season, but was the slowest since his professional debut. His performance in the 2023 season was 5-6 wins, 11 losses, and 4.70 in ERA in 60 games.
As soon as he finished the last season to take another leap forward, Jung underwent surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow and started preparing for the 2024 season early on. He is leaving for Arizona, the U.S., 10 days before the start of his team’s spring training. He will recover his ball power from the peak of his career and get a reasonable result before winning permission to play in the MLB from his club. Manager Yeom also believes that it is important for Jung to successfully play the 2024 season in order to win an MLB contract like Ko Woo-suk.