Kiwoom Heroes Jang Jae-young (21) is quenching to return to the first team in the Futures League.
Jang Jae-young,스포츠토토who joined Kiwoom as the first pick for the 2021 rookie draft, set a record for the 2nd place in newcomer contracts in the KBO League and the 1st place in the club’s history (900 million won), raising great expectations, but has not yet been able to perform as expected. In three seasons, he only recorded 35 games (38 innings) and 3 losses with an earned run average of 9.24.
He has had a good start this season. Jang Jae-young succeeded in winning the 5th starting spot by playing an active role in 3 games (9 innings) 1 win 1 loss with an ERA of 3.00 in the demonstration game. However, when he entered the regular season, he played 2 games (6⅓ innings) and 2 losses with an average ERA of 12.79, and he eventually gave over the 5th starter to Lee Seung-ho and went down to the 2nd team.
Jang Jae-young, who started tempering again in the Futures League, is recording outstanding results with 2 wins in 4 games (23⅓ innings) and an average ERA of 0.77. On the mound on the 18th, he pitched 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts, and no runs.
However, manager Hong Won-ki repeatedly emphasized that he still has no intention of calling Jang Jae-young to the first team for the time being. Lee Seung-ho was also eliminated from the 5th starter after 1 game due to sluggish pitching, but Jeong Chan-heon, who is currently in charge of the 5th starter, is playing his role to some extent with 3 losses in 3 games (16 innings) and an average ERA of 4.50, and Jang Jae-young’s biggest problem is still because it has not been resolved.
Director Hong Won-ki said, “Jung Chan-heon was disappointed in the first episode. He got no help on defense either. Although he struggled in the first inning, his pitching after that was not bad. He had some problems with his pitching, but I think he did his part,” he said, adding that he had no intention of excluding Jeong Chan-heon from the starting rotation. Regarding Jang Jae-young, “The process is more important than the result. I think he will need a little more accumulated data,” he said, emphasizing that pitching is important.
Jang Jae-young maintains a low ERA in the Futures League, but the chronic insecurity of control is still present. In 23⅓ innings pitched, he allowed 21 on four walks (16 walks and 5 hit balls). The trademark fastball velocity also continued to decline, recording a maximum speed of 151 km per hour and a minimum of 144 km on the 12th, and a maximum of 150 km and a minimum of 141 km on the 18th.
Jang Jae-young, whose potential is comparable to any famous pitcher, needs to catch the first pitch while maintaining his fastball in order to fully develop his skills in the first team. Coach Hong Won-ki wants Jang Jae-young to be confident that he can work well in the first team.