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| 2021-09-13 16:53:23
(LEAD) baseball-draft
(LEAD) Hard-throwing right-hander goes 1st overall at KBO draft
(ATTN: ADDS details, photos)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- Park Jun-young, a highly touted high school pitching prospect, was selected first overall at the annual draft in South Korean professional baseball on Monday.
The Hanwha Eagles, holding the first pick after finishing the 2021 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season in last place, chose the hard-throwing right-hander out of Sekwang High School in Cheongju, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul.
Park, 18, has gone 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 16 appearances so far this season. He has struck out 75 and walked 19 in 56 1/3 innings, and has not given up any home run.
"I am excited to be the first overall pick," Park said in a statement put out by the Eagles. "I'd like to become a franchise star for Hanwha and help the team win a championship."
The Eagles, a perennial KBO doormat, have chosen two of the best pitchers in two separate drafts this summer.
The KBO held its annual territorial draft last month, whereby clubs could each select one player from their own region. However, the bottom three teams from the previous season could pick a player from outside their home region. And the Eagles, based in the central city of Daejeon, picked right-hander Moon Dong-ju out of Gwangju Jinheung High School in Gwangju, located in the southern part of the country.
The Eagles have made the postseason just once since 2008. They finished at 46-95-3 (wins-losses-ties) last year and are stuck in last place again this year at 38-64-7.
After the draft, Eagles general manager Jeong Min-chul gushed, "We've picked Park Jun-young, who is the best (high school) right-handed pitcher in the country, without a doubt."
"As Park Jun-young and Moon Dong-ju get into friendly competition, they'll both develop into two of the best right-handers in the league," added Jeong, a former All-Star pitcher himself.
The SSG Landers selected pitcher Shin Hyun-min from Gwangju Dongsung High School with the second overall pick. Mulgeum High School infielder Kim Young-woong went to the Samsung Lions as the third selection.
Seven of the 10 players chosen in the first round were pitchers.
With their 41st pick, the Eagles chose former Chicago Cubs minor league outfielder Kwon Kwang-min.
Kwon, 23, signed with the Cubs in August 2015 but never made it past Single-A in the minors. He dabbled in the Australian Baseball League in 2018 but was released by the Cubs in March 2019.
Because Kwon signed his first professional contract overseas before playing in the KBO, he was ineligible for the KBO draft for two years after returning home. Kwon used that time to complete his mandatory military service. He enlisted in May 2019 and was discharged in December 2020. He played some independent ball afterward before entering the draft Monday.
The Lotte Giants selected three second-generation athletes in later rounds. Jin Seung-hyeon, a right-hander out of Kyeongbuk High School and son of former KBO catcher Jin Kab-yong, went to the Giants in the second round, at 14th overall.
With their 28th pick, acquired in a trade from the KT Wiz, the Giants picked Gangneung High School infielder Kim Se-min, son of a collegiate coach Kim Chul-ki.
The Giants then chose Duksoo High School pitcher Ha Hye-seong, whose father, Ha Jong-hwa, was a volleyball star in the early 1990s.
The Giants said they tried to pick the best athletes available, regardless of their positions.
The Kiwoom Heroes drafted Seoul High School pitcher Joo Seung-bin in the fifth round. In last month's territorial draft, the Heroes had chosen Joo's older brother, Joo Seung-woo, out of Sungkyunkwan University. They're the first set of brothers to be drafted by the same team in KBO history.
Twin brothers Yun Tae-hyeon and Yun Tae-ho, both pitchers out of Incheon High School, will play for different clubs, though. The Landers selected Tae-hyeon in the territorial draft in August. The Doosan Bears then picked Tae-ho in the fifth round on Monday.
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