I haven't been invited to fall baseball, but I'm still sweating. He has been included with seniors in the KIA's closing training pitching group, which has been underway in Gincho, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan since the 1st.
I got the youngest ticket. Kang Dong-hoon, Kim Min-jae and Choi Ji-woong, a "preliminary rookie" selected through the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft, accompanied the camp. Yoon Young-chul focuses on laying the foundation for the new season by focusing on strengthening basic physical strength such as weight during the camp.
This season, Yoon pitched 122 ⅔ innings in 25 games and recorded 8 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 4.04. The hit rate was 263 percent, and the on-base percentage per inning (WHIP) was 1.40, similar to the league average (hit rate of 263 percent, WHIP 1.41). While giving up 49 four outs, he struck out 74 and hit 10 home runs. Considering that he is a stat of a pitcher who just graduated from high school and played full-time in his debut season in the first division, it can be said that he has done more than expected.
When Yoon Young-chul was selected as KIA's fifth starter before the opening of this season, he was half-anticipated and half-concerned. Although he had excellent control, it was difficult to guarantee that he would survive the first division stage with a fastball of around 140km. Yoon Young-chul's ball speed was not easy to stand out in the KBO League, where not only 150km but also 160km pitchers were born.
Despite this, Yoon Young-chul succeeded in completing the first division full time. In addition to his strength in ball control, he showed his game management skills that he could not believe he was a 19-year-old pitcher. The KIA bench, who realistically caught "three runs in five innings," did not hide his joy and surprise at Yoon Young-chul, who is increasing the number of innings as he continues to play. KIA manager Kim Jong-kook looked back on Yoon Young-chul's pitching this season and said, "He threw better than expected."
Expectations for Yoon Young-chul, who completed his debut season in the first division, will inevitably rise higher.
Next year, Yoon Young-chul will also be classified as a player who will be in charge of KIA's starting lineup along with Yang Hyun-jong and Lee Eui-ri. Lim Ki-young's usage next year, who competed for five starters before the season, is a variable, but an exciting composition is expected in that Yoon Young-chul, who has gained experience that will not fall behind in the new competition.
However, it is unclear whether the strong performance of this season will continue. The picture next year, when the opposing batters meet with Yoon Young-chul's pitching pattern analysis completed, could be different from this year. This is why the increase in restraint and the addition of breaking balls are mentioned.
Yoon Young-chul himself knows better than anyone else that he needs to develop in the new season.
Yoon Young-chul, who answered "50 points" when asked to evaluate him this season, said, "Because I'm a rookie, I'm hearing that I threw well, but it's not a very good record if I look at it calmly. It will be difficult to achieve this grade next year and the year after next. "I'm not satisfied with the present, but I want to supplement it and show a better pitching," he said. "There were a lot of physically difficult things than I thought. "In the second half of the year, it was very hard, and there were many difficult games because my form didn't come out."
He also revealed his own firm philosophy in his view of rising ball power and adding ball types. Yoon Young-chul said, "Arrest will naturally come up if you train and throw steadily. The first thing to do is to clean up what you have now. I'm going to focus on my control. "I'm also using about five curves per game, but if my control is more stable, I'll try to use it a lot," he said.
"I have some plans for the off-season. Yoon Young-chul emphasized, "I want to prepare well and show that I will not be tired in the second half of next year." Okinawa's final camp is the first step toward a leap forward in the new season.