*This content was translated by AI.
Kyungnam High School's "hit machine" Park Bo-seung (18) dreamed of facing Park Young-hyun (23, KT Wiz) with the goal of becoming a five-tool player.
Park Bo-seung met with Star News at the Gyeongnam High School Stadium on the 26th and said, "The tool I have now is contact. Right now, I'm doing a lot of weight training this winter because I'm a little disappointed with my long hit. "I'm changing the swing a little bit so that I can hit a lot of long balls," he said.
Putting together the scouts' evaluations, Park Bo-seung is considered one of the prospects who is close to the current five-tool player. Neither shoulders nor running is the highest level in the same age group, but it is a type that maximizes the tool by filling in the shortcomings with sense. For example, when defending, it reduces the distance to throw with a quick first-step start, and records more stolen bases than faster players with baserunning skills. So when asked what kind of player Park Bo-seung is, scouts commonly say, "He's good at baseball."
It also proves the immediate record. Last year, Park Bo-seung hit .425 (51 hits in 120 at-bats) with one homer, 24 RBIs, 31 runs, 14 steals, and 12 strikeouts with 20 outs in 31 games as the main left fielder at Gyeongnam High School, which won its second consecutive national championship. Park Bo-seung's 51 hits are a new record for the most hits in a single season since the computerization of high school baseball records in 2000. This is the first time in a year that Park Joon-soon (20, Doosan Bears) has surpassed his previous record of 50 hits in 2024.
In response, Park Bo-seung said, "In fact, I didn't have any greed at the beginning of the second year. I just wanted to keep doing what I could without any pressure until the end, but my performance came out well because the team's performance was good," he said with humility. He said, "I've been a center fielder since elementary school. He also focused a little more on the bat because he played left field in Gyeongnam High School. I thought a lot about getting it right last winter, but I was able to find the right timing for me in the winter league and continue until the end of the season," he said.
As such, it is evaluated that the contact ability is the best in the same age group. KBO Scout A said, "Park Bo-seung has very good contact ability. Gyeongnam High School played in many games with good performance last year, but also set a record for the most hits. I think I'm the best at guessing (as of January)."
It is evaluated that both the pioneer's eye and the skill to guess are high-quality. Last year, Park Bo-seung marked a batting average of 0.370 or higher in all three or more games. Another KBO scout, B, said, "It's the medium and long distance type. "He is a player who does not strike out well and has a high percentage of hitting at-bats, so the quality of his batting is very good." He then said, "I'm good at using my knees and lower body, so I'm good at giving strength to the impact moment. The contact area is very large. He added, "A batter who can send the batting direction evenly."
The excellent batting was an opportunity to focus on the fielder, even though he was a left-hander who easily threw a ball over 140 kilometers per hour. Even though he was a freshman, he showed his presence with a batting average of .308 in nine games as a batter and an ERA of 1.13 in two games as a pitcher.
This year, he will take on the core of Gyeongnam High School as the main center fielder and captain at the same time. Kyungnam High School coach Jeon Kwang-yeol said, "I was basically a player with speed in my body, but as my lower body balance improved, my contact ability became significantly better than in middle school."
"The most important thing is that you know how to hit right for yourself. Rather than making a big change to hit far away (unlikely), he takes advantage of his fast batting speed and takes a simple swing. If you gain a little more muscle here, the ball will go further on its own. I'm still ordering it now," he added.
The player himself was greedy for long balls, but he did not try to change them too much. Rather, he is determined to focus on weight training and focus a little more on center field defense. Park Bo-seung said, "I think running on my own is a little faster than average. In defense, I think the first start and throw are good. But it's still not enough to follow quickly," he said, coldly diagnosing himself. "I think we should be able to follow the ball quickly like KBO Jung Soo-bin or Jihoon Choi players. I think this part needs a lot of experience," he added.
Park Bo-seung is considered a center fielder resource with a possibility of a top round along with Bae Jong-yoon (18) of Gwangju Il High School, Cho Hee-sung (18) of Yu Shin-go, and Kwon Sang-hyuk (18) of Seoul High School in the 2027 KBO Rookie Draft, which will be held later this year. Park Bo-seung said, "If I go to KBO, I really want to meet Kim Do-young (KIA) player. "I have a lot of questions about how you have fast feet, how you can hit long balls well and perform well," he said. "As a hitter, I really want to hit Park Young-hyun's ball. Just by looking at it, I feel like my fastball is rising, so I really want to hit it at the batter's box."
The ultimate goal is to become a five-tool player such as role model Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) and Suzuki Ichiro (53, retired). Lee Jung-hoo and Ichiro were called hitting machines in the Major League, but they were five-tool players with good slugging power in their respective leagues.
Park Bo-seung said, "Lee Jung-hoo and Ichiro are role models. I also have an advantage in contact with the same left-handed outfielder as you two. I think you two are five-tool players, and I want to be like that, so I want to be like them," he stressed. "Since I've been captain this year, I'm aiming to win the weekend league and the national championship in the first half of the year. His personal performance was better than last year. I want to be selected for the youth national team by doing so consistently," he said with strength.
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*This content was translated by AI.
