"It's all thanks to the fireball fans." KT Lim Sang-woo's sincerity to the flints... First rookie nomination → Aiming to debut in the first team

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz rookie Lim Sang-woo (23, KT Wiz) promised his first professional season to do his best, recalling the enthusiastic support of his fans.

After the 2026 KBO rookie orientation at the Daejeon Convention Center on the 14th, Lim Sang-woo said, "I had a lot of questions and questions because I experienced a lot for the first time. Thank you for making this time to let rookies know about the KBO league," he said.

KT, which is currently undergoing an infield generation change, envisioned various futures by selecting infielders in consecutive rounds from the second to fourth rounds in the 2026 KBO Rookie Draft. After shortstop Shim Woo-joon (31) moved to Hanwha Eagles two years ago, young infielders such as Kwon Dong-jin (28) and Oh Seo-jin (20) came forward, but it is not reliable yet.

Lim Sang-woo (23), who was designated as the 36th overall in the fourth round, is considered immediate power. After going to Dankook University from Gyeonggi High School, he was one of the batters who dominated the college league with a batting average of 0.396 (84 hits in 212) with one home run, 39 RBIs, 78 runs and 45 steals, and a 0.527 on-base percentage of 0.538 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.065.

The KT scout told Star News, "Cim Sang-woo was a good shortstop and a good player. He has a shoulder and throwing accuracy that can be fully understood as a shortstop in the professional league. You still need more strength in hitting, but basically you have a good eye and contact ability. "If you look at the hit, I'm more excited than (Lee) Kang-min right now, so I expect him to step on the first-team stage quickly," he said.

KT uniforms are more special because they have already failed the draft once. Therefore, the closing camp, which participated in KT uniforms for the first time, was meaningful in itself. Lim Sang-woo said, "I haven't met all the seniors yet, but I was grateful that everyone was really good to my juniors. The coaches asked me to build my body well because there was no big drop in the technical area, but that was also good," he said with a smile.

He said, "I know very well that the evaluation that the strength is very low. That's why I'm supplementing that part a lot this offseason. "I'm also working hard because I have to build up my physical strength to play for a season as a shortstop and second baseman," he said with strength.

Perhaps the player with the hottest fandom among rookies this year is Lim Sang-woo. Lim Sang-woo appeared in the TV entertainment fireworks baseball when he was a student at Dankook University. He was loved by the flints (fireball fan name) for leading 10 consecutive wins while playing as the main shortstop. It is premature to judge actual skills by their performances in entertainment.

However, KT paid attention to Lim Sang-woo itself, which was shown in a space surrounded by countless fans and cameras, not technical ones. KT Scout said, "I thought that a player who was good even in college went to fireworks baseball and grew further. With the seniors, I saw a wider view of baseball. He also explained, "I was more relaxed when I saw him playing in the fireworks baseball and playing games in the college league."

He recalled Park Chan-ho (31, Doosan Bears) when he was a child. At the time of his debut, Park Chan-ho was a little small in physique, but he made the first team stage from an early age with his sensuous defense. Since then, he has grown as a full-time shortstop by naturally building up his physique and building muscles. A KT scout said, "If Oh Seo-jin is Park Ki-hyuk, Lim Sang-woo reminds me of Park Chan-ho as a child." While Seo-jin made accurate and fast throws like Park Ki-hyuk, (Im) Sang-woo resembles Park Chan-ho in his body shape and overall play type. Chan-ho also didn't have a lot of strength when he was young, but he became a shortstop representing KBO as he strengthened his strength," he explained.

Lee Kang-min (19) in the second round and Kim Gun-hwi (19) in the third round, who were selected together, are considered good competitors. Lee Kang-min was evaluated as the best defense high school shortstop in the same age group along with Kwon Hyun-kyu (19, Hanwha Eagles) in this draft. Kim Gun-hwi is a big infielder who competes for first and second place in terms of power in the draft. The KT scout said, "(Im) Sang-woo is just starting. You have to work really hard. As far as I know, Kangmin's evaluation was really good in this final camp. Sang-woo has a lot of fans (for a rookie), but he has to do his best without being swept away (by that brief popularity). Still, he said, "I'm a player who wants to play baseball."

Even without saying anything else, Lim Sang-woo's eyes were already toward the spring camp. Lim Sang-woo said, "I was excited during the closing camp, but I was very nervous. I was able to finish well because (Kim) Gun-hwi, who was my colleague, helped me a lot," he said. "(Lee) Kang-min is really good at defense. He is such a good defensively player that he talked a lot to learn good things from Kangmin. I hope I can be of help to Kangmin," he said with a smile.

Since their debut, many individual fans have been concerned about the player's growth in a bad direction. Expectations are high because it is the first rookie draft nominee produced by Fireworks Baseball. However, Im Sang-woo says, "Thanks to this, I can gain strength and compete."

Lim Sang-woo said, "It was really good to play baseball with seniors in fireworks baseball. It was also special to be able to play in front of many fans even before our debut. Thanks to the fans, I think I can play a little more leisurely than my colleagues. I will work harder and grow into a player who stands out for the first-team coach and coach this year and helps the team and is recognized," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.