“It took less than an hour,”
Kiwoom Heroes officially announced on the 20th, “We nominated pitching prospect Lee Kang-joon as a compensation player for Han Hyun-hee, who obtained FA (free agent) status and transferred to Lotte Giants.” did.
Lee Kang-joon was nominated by KT Wiz with the 33rd overall pick in the 2nd 3rd round of the 2020 rookie draft. Lee Kang-joon, who throws a fast ball that goes over 150 km, has been evaluated as being able to excel as long as he catches the first pitch. During the KT days, he is a pitcher with excellent potential to the extent that manager Lee Kang-cheol especially cherishes him.
This was also the case with Lotte. In 2021, Lotte gave away two immediate power senses, including infield utility resource Oh Yoon-seok and catcher Kim Jun-tae, and received Lee Kang-jun from KT. It was Lotte’s move that saw the ‘future’ rather than the present. Like KT, Lotte saw potential in Lee Kang-joon.
However, his growth at Lotte fell short of expectations. Immediately after wearing the Lotte uniform, Lee Kang-jun hinted at his potential with an average ERA of 3.60 in 8 games (5 innings) in September. However, the flow after him was not good. Lee Kang-joon was listed on the entry for the opening game of the 2022 season, but finished the season with an ERA of 10.24 in 13 games (9⅔ innings).
Lotte expected that Kiwoom would not name Lee Kang-joon, who is about to enlist as a managing director in May, and excluded his name from the list of 20 protected players. However, Kiwoom did not miss this opportunity. General manager Goh Hyeong-wook, who contacted ‘My Daily’, said, “I thought it would be nice if only two players were left out of the list of protected players, but both of them were left out.
Just like KT and Lotte, general manager Go Hyeong-wook also highly evaluated Lee Kang-joon’s potential for growth. When General Manager Koh Hyeong-wook said, “Lee Kang-joon is about to enlist as managing director,” he said, “He’s a player with a high potential for growth. How good will he become if he gains experience at managing director?” raised up 메이저사이트
He weighed two players, but it didn’t take long to make a decision. General Manager Ko Hyeong-wook explained, “Immediately after Han Hyun-hee signed a contract with Lotte, he selected and reviewed Lotte’s list of players, and it took less than an hour to make a decision after receiving the list.”
Director Ko Hyeong-wook even traveled to Wonju, Gangwon-do to see Lee Kang-joon in the past. He said, “Since I am very interested in scouts, I went to see him throwing the ball in Wonju. Even after throwing about 100 pitches, Lee Kang-joon’s speed did not drop. He has very good stamina and knows how to throw the ball.”
He has a chronic control problem, but Lee Kang-jun judged that he could have control. General manager Ko Hyeong-wook praised him, “There are players who can get the ball and there are players who can’t, but Lee Kang-joon is a player who can. And the power and movement at the tip of the ball are considerable. He is a player who will grow greatly if his mentality gets stronger and he accumulates experience.”
Meanwhile, Lee Kang-joon left for Guam, where Lotte’s spring camp was held, via Gimhae International Airport on the 20th. Lee Kang-joon plans to return to Korea on the 21st and prepare to join the Kiwoom team.
