*This content was translated by AI.
Despite closer Yoo Young-chan (29)'s slow pace, the LG Twins are relaxed. Why is that.
Yoo Young-chan recently pitched two bullpens at the 2026 LG Spring Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The first pitching was on Jan. 31 local time. At that time, Yoo Young-chan threw a total of 26 pitches, including 17 fastballs, 8 sliders, and 1 fork. In the second bullpen pitching on February 3, he also measured his speed. He threw a total of 50 pitches, including 33 fastballs, 10 sliders, and 7 folk balls, but his maximum fastball speed was 139 kilometers per hour and the average was 137 kilometers.
Yoo Young-chan is an attractive right-hander with a fastball of up to 155km/h. The average speed is well over 145km, but the pace is somewhat slow considering that it is early in the spring camp. There was a reason. Regarding the first bullpen pitching, the LG club said, "We delayed the starting point of pitching to manage Yoo Young-chan's condition. "In my first pitching, I pitched all the pitches to the strike zone and maintained a stable balance," he explained.
In his second bullpen pitching, he also said, "I'm still in the stage of raising my body. It's slowly picking up its pace, focusing on checking both fastballs and breaking balls rather than the record itself. The figures such as vertical movement and rotational speed are all good, so the preparation is going well," he said.
We cannot ignore the aftermath of surgery in December 2024 for right elbow parietal stress microfracture. Yoo Young-chan returned to the first team stage only in June due to the surgery, and this year is the first full season after the surgery.
The routine of making the player's own body was another reason. LG's first-team pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam said, "Yoo Young-chan is not the type to get his body on track right from the beginning. So a systematic build-up process is needed. He said, "We are preparing well for the scheduled schedule, with the style of slowly raising our bodies more than other players."
Yoo Young-chan is a closer who is expected to play a key role in LG, which is trying to win its second consecutive Korean Series title. After graduating from Bae Myung-go and Konkuk University, he joined the 2020 KBO Rookie Draft as 43rd in the 5th round and did not immediately stand out.
In 2023, the first full-time year, he played in the must-win group with a 3.44 ERA in 67 games, contributing to his first Korean Series victory in 29 years. Since then, he has recorded more than 20 saves for two consecutive years, becoming the main player in winning the Korean Series again last year. As it is important to play the entire 144 games season in good health, there is no need for LG to overdo it.
Instead of slowly raising his condition, he focused on pitching against left-handed hitters, who showed weakness last year. Last year, Yoo Young-chan was very weak with a batting average of 0.259 against left-handed hitters and an on-base plus slugging ratio of 0.817. In contrast, he marked a hit rate of 0.170 and an POPS of 0.483 to right-handed hitters.
Coach Kim Kwang-sam said, "Yoo Young-chan was excellent for right-handed hitters, but when comparing last year and the previous season, there was something to improve against left-handed hitters. We are currently intensively practicing and supplementing this part," he explained.
Yoo Young-chan also said, "I checked my condition by increasing the number of pitches compared to the first pitching, and it was a satisfactory result. Currently, the camp is conducting training with an emphasis on pitching against left-handed hitters emphasized by coach Kim Kwang-sam," he stressed.
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*This content was translated by AI.
