"I'm going to go to ML like this."' The KBO's 23-year-old is showing keen interest in the beauty of the big guns... "One key player of WBC in Korea"

*This content was translated by AI.

Among the 20 teams participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Ahn Hyun-min (23), the "muscle man" of KT Wiz, was considered the key player of Korea.

The official website of the Major League Baseball (MLB) in the U.S. announced on the 19th (Korea time) that A key player for each of the 20 teams participating in the WBC (A key player of the 20 World Baseball Classic teams).

Ahn Hyun-min was selected as a key player for South Korea in Group C of the WBC group league.

The media said, "Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Hye-sung, who play in the Major League, and Ryu Hyun-jin, who has been named a finalist for the Cy Young Award twice in the past, are the most famous players in the Korean national team."

"However, Ahn Hyun-min is most likely to be a Korean key player (Ahn is like the biggest member of the team)," he said.

MLB.com said, "As I mentioned earlier about his impressive physique, Ahn Hyun-min is nicknamed 'Muscle Man' compared to Mike Trout (LA Angels). 또 나이는 이제 22살에 불과하다(By that, I'm referring to his impressive physique, which has earned him comparisons to Mike Trout and the nickname 'Muscle Man.' Just 22 years old)"고 언급했다.

Finally, the media said, "Ahn Hyun-min appeared at-bats 482 times in the KBO League last season, and kept the right outfield with a batting average of 0.334 on-base percentage of 0.448, a slugging percentage of 0.570, and 22 home runs (An has locked down the right field spot after slashing .334/.448/.570 with 22 home runs in just 482 plate appearances last season in KBO play)."

Ahn Hyun-min played in 112 games in the 2025 season and recorded a batting average of 0.334 (132 hits in 395 at-bats) with 22 home runs, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 80 RBIs and 72 runs, 7 steals (one failure), 75 walks and 9 balls with a ball, 72 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.570, an on-base percentage of 0.448, an OPS of 1.018 and a scoring batting average of 0.333 and an on-base percentage of 1.018 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage). Based on this strong performance, he won the Golden Glove in the Rookie of the Year and Outfielder category.

In particular, Ahn Hyun-min raged in two warm-up matches against the Japanese national team at Tokyo Dome in November last year with two hits, two home runs, three RBIs, three walks and three points from six times at bat. In the first game of the 2025 K-BASEBALL SERIES series, he made a pre-emptive two-run shot over the right-center fence against Daisuke Moriura in the fourth inning.

This wasn't the end. In the second game held the next day, when South Korea was trailing 5-7 with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, he hit Hiroto Takahashi's fourth fastball (152km) and drew a solo arch over the left fence. In the end, with Ahn Hyun-min's home run as a stepping stone, South Korea was able to win a precious 7-7 draw after Kim Joo-won hit a tying solo shot after two outs in the ninth inning.

South Korea is determined to continue its baseball success with good results at this WBC tournament. South Korea was in Group C along with Japan, Australia, Taiwan and the Czech Republic. Group C will be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan from March 5-10.

First, the Korean national team will play an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers on March 2 and then an exhibition game against the Orix Buffaloes on the 3rd. After two days off, he will play the first game against the Czech Republic at 7 p.m. on the 5th. After taking a day off, the national team will play a fateful Korea-Japan match at 7 p.m. on the 7th. After the Korea-Japan match, they will face Taiwan at noon on the 8th, the next day after taking a short break. In fact, it is expected that South Korea's advance to the second round will be determined in the match against Taiwan. And on the 9th, he will play the final match of the first round against Australia at 7 p.m.

In addition, the media selected outfielder Kondo Kensuke (Softbank Hawks), who plays on the NPB stage, not Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LA Dodgers) as one person to watch in Japan. Kondo contributed greatly to Japan's victory in the 2023 WBC tournament with nine hits, eight walks and four doubles. The NPB's overall batting average is 0.307, the on-base percentage is 0.417, and the slugging percentage is 0.456.

In fact, pitcher Shirooshi (Softbank) was listed as a key player in Taiwan, where he is likely to face off for the second place in the group. In addition, Lachlan Wells, the current LG Twins' Asian quarter pitcher, was selected as a notable player in Australia. Wells was 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in four games for the Kiwoom Heroes last season. The Czech Republic, which is considered the weakest in Group C, drew attention as pitcher Jan Novak was pointed out as a key player. The key player in the U.S. was infielder Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals).

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.