KBO held the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft at Lotte Hotel World Crystal Ballroom in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 11th.
A total of 1,179 people participated in the draft, including 840 people scheduled to graduate from high school, 286 people scheduled to graduate from college, 56 early draft applicants, 15 people from overseas ama/pro and other applicants.
According to the order of last season's performance, the first to 11 rounds were held in the order of Kiwoom Heroes, Hanwha Eagles, Samsung Lions, Lotte Giants, KIA Tigers, Doosan Bears, NC Dinos, SSG Landers, KT Wiz, and LG Twins.
Kiwoom, who had the first nomination right, chose left-hander fireball pitcher Jung Hyun-woo (18, Deoksu High School), who crosses the 150km/h range as the first overall pick in the first round.
Chung Hyun-woo received attention as a complete pitcher early on, recording an ERA of 0.75 in 16 games (unbeaten) and throwing a total of 48 ⅓ innings to get 70 strikeouts in the weekend league of high school baseball this year.
Along with fastballs, it is widely evaluated that breaking balls such as curves and fork balls will work well on the professional stage.
Chung Hyun-woo said, "I'm confident as much as I can use it as a crystal ball even when I go professional," adding, "If I can fit Clayton Kershaw's good curves and sliders, I'll be able to become a pitcher who can win more than 10 games in the professional league."
Hanwha chose right-hander Jung Woo-joo (18) of Shinheung High School, which received great attention from the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB).
Jung Woo-joo made headlines by throwing 156 kilometers per hour balls at official high school baseball games. This year, he pitched in 16 games and recorded four wins and one loss with an ERA of 1.57 in the weekend league of high school baseball.
In addition, it is evaluated that he has excellent strikeouts by striking out 80 in 45 ⅔ innings.
Jung Woo-joo expressed his feelings about wearing Hanwha's uniform, saying, "I am more than 100% satisfied with the result of the nomination."
"(Hanwha) will be the fans' desire to win the Korean Series beyond fall baseball, but I will go up to the first team as soon as possible and show a good performance," he said.
Samsung has named Bae Chan-seung, an 18-year-old left-hander who is currently studying at Daegu High School in his hometown. Bae made a strong impression by pitching three scoreless innings in the match against Japan in the Super Round at the Asian Youth Championship held earlier this month.
Lotte, which has the fourth-place nomination right, also selected left-hander Kim Tae-hyun (18), who is attending Gwangju Jeil High School, and KIA also nominated right-hander Kim Tae-hyung (18, Deoksu High School).
Kim Tae-hyung, who picked Yang Hyun-jong (KIA) as a role model, expressed his respect, saying, "It is cool that Yang Hyun-jong does not get nervous and overwhelms the batter no matter what the situation is."
Kiwoom, who has the seventh pick in the first round, exercised right-hander Kim Seo-joon (18), who is currently attending Chunghoon High School. Kiwoom gave Kim Hui-jip to NC in May and received the draft pick. 메이저사이트
In the first round alone, Kiwoom nominated two pitchers. KT and LG also picked right-handed pitcher Kim Dong-hyun (18, Seoul High School) and right-handed pitcher Kim Young-woo (18, Seoul High School), respectively.
Doosan, which has the sixth overall nomination right, and SSG, which has the eighth nomination right, chose the fielder.
Doosan picked Park Joon-soon (18) of Deoksu High School, while SSG also picked Lee Yul-ye (18) of Gangneung High School. In 34 games this year, Park had a batting average of 0.442 (113 at-bats) with 50 hits, five homers, 33 RBIs, 49 runs and 22 steals.
Lee Yul-ye played in a total of 23 games and had a batting average of 0.391 (69 at-bats) with 27 hits, two homers, 16 RBIs and 27 runs.
"I have the ability to quickly grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the players and run the game," said Kim Jae-hyun, head of SSG. "We will make Lee Yul-ye a sign in the era of Cheongna Dome Stadium in 2028."