The U.S. media pointed out "Kim Do-young - Ahn Hyun-min to Jung Woo-joo and Moon Hyun-bin." Four Korean players who will advance to the ML Korea.

*This content was translated by AI.

The changed status of Korean baseball is already being felt. Not only Kim Do-young (23, KIA), who is widely known, but also players who are making their presence known to the world through this competition are already attracting attention.

U.S. media Baseball America introduced four players on the 7th (Korea Standard Time) under the title of "Players who are likely to advance to the Major League among Korean players participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC)."

The media said, "If we decide to enter the U.S., we will introduce four talented players in the KBO League who show their potential to play in the major leagues," adding, "In recent years, more and more Korean players have entered the major leagues such as Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Ha-sung and Kim Hye-sung." Who will be the next runner?" he said, referring to Kim Do-young's name first.

Baseball America has a reason why Kim Do-young is the first hitter in the Korean national team, adding, "He won the KBO Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2024, when he was 20, and had a historic season with a batting average of 0.347 with 38 homers, 40 steals, 109 RBIs, 143 runs, and an on-base percentage of 0.420. However, he missed much of the season last year due to a hamstring injury, he said. "Kim Do-young is likely to record more than average home runs in the Major League as he has various abilities such as long hit, excellent hitting skills and speed. Kim Do-young is considered the average defender in third base defense and spent most of his time at third base until he won the equivalent of the Korean Gold Glove in 2024. It is always questionable how well his performance in KBO will work in MLB, but Kim Do-young's early career performance suggests that he is a promising MLB player with above-average potential.

Kim Do-young ranks first in the international prospect list among Korean players. It's not surprising. In that sense, the next players to be introduced were even more unexpected.

One of them was Ahn Hyun-min (23, KT). Ahn Hyun-min, who first solved the military service problem after joining KT in 2022 and returned to the rookie of the year last season, is also playing a key role in this national team.

The media said, "At the time of the last WBC, Ahn Hyun-min served as a cook while serving in the military. Ahn Hyun-min, who won the Rookie of the Year award and the Golden Glove for his outstanding performance at KT Wiz in 2025, will play as the No. 4 hitter for the Korean national team at WBC in 2026, he said. "Ahn Hyun-min showed excellent physical conditions, slugging power, and versatile skills." In the 2025 rookie season, Ahn Hyun-min showed outstanding batting ability, hitting a batting average of 0.334, an on-base percentage of 0.448, and 22 home runs with a slugging percentage of 0.570, getting more walks than strikeouts in his first full season of the KBO. Along with Kim Do-young, Ahn Hyun-min is considered one of the best prospects produced in Korea recently."

Hanwha's Young Gun duo also received attention. Moon Hyun-bin (22), who rebounded surprisingly last year, was one of them. The media said, "Moon Hyun-bin made his debut in the Hanwha lineup at the age of 19 and made rapid progress in 2025. He had his best season with a batting average of 0.320, 12 homers and 17 steals, a 0.370 on-base percentage and a 0.453 slugging percentage. "Moon Hyun-bin is not a top prospect like Kim Do-young or Ahn Hyun-min, but he is one of the young talents who will lead the future of Korean baseball." His at-bat skills, with an aggressive approach premised on putting the ball on the in-play, are around with good bat-to-ball abilities. Moon Hyun-bin has been a bench player in WBC so far, but he may become a major member of the Korean lineup in future tournaments," he explained.

Jung Woo-joo (20) was the only pitcher to be selected. The media said, "Jung Woo-joo is the youngest player in the Korean national team and one of the five youngest players to participate in this WBC. Last year, at the age of 18, he pitched in 51 games in the Hanwha bullpen, striking out 82 in 53 ⅔ innings and posting a 2.85 ERA. Jung Woo-joo is a bullpen pitcher for the Korean national team at WBC, and he pitched one inning against the Czech Republic, showing a somewhat sluggish performance.

Jung Woo-joo can play four-seam fastballs, sliders, and curveballs. Chung Hyun-bin's fastball shows various arm side breaks, such as drawing an above-average trajectory with a 92-93-mile speed limit, sometimes bending to 1 foot (about 30 cm), and sometimes bending larger. "His main sub-pitch is a short slider in the middle of 80 miles, and the rotation speed is 2,400 to 2,600 rpm." Jung Woo-joo's curveball is a two-plane breaker with a high rotation speed in the 70th-mile-late speed, expressing expectations.

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*This content was translated by AI.