"HAN DONG HEE is the best among his peers". I was waiting for the ML scout to come back... Lateral muscle damage → Will the opening game fail

*This content was translated by AI.

The return of Han Dong-hee (27, Lotte Giants), a highly anticipated right-handed prospect, has been delayed for a while. In addition, the opening game may fail.

Han Dong-hee was absent from the starting lineup immediately after the start of the 2026 KBO exhibition game against the KT Wiz at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 13th. It turned out to be a side injury. An official from Lotte said, "It was replaced immediately after the start of the game on the 13th due to symptoms of clumping on the left side. The examination revealed fine damage to the left internal radiolucent muscle. The condition is not serious, but we will give it a break for about two weeks from a management perspective," he said on the 14th.

It's a pity for both Han Dong-hee and Lotte. Han Dong-hee, who has been attracting attention as the second Lee Dae-ho since Kyungnam High School, joined Lotte as the first designation of the 2018 KBO Rookie Draft and received a lot of expectations. He showed potential by hitting double-digit home runs for three consecutive seasons, but he did not grow as much as expected with a batting average of 0.262 and a 59-home run OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.731 for seven seasons after joining the team.

However, he showed further growth in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu), which left to fulfill its military service obligations. Han Dong-hee, who hit 11 home runs with a batting average of 0.323 (51 hits in 158 at-bats) in his first year in the Futures League as a member of Sangmu, dominated the second division stage last year with a batting average of 0.400 (154 hits in 385 at-bats) 27 home runs, 115 RBIs and 107 runs and an on-base percentage of 0.480 with a slugging percentage of 0.675 OPS of 1.155. Although the level difference is large from that of the first team, Lotte was excited again in that it showed growth as a detailed indicator with 63 pitches (56 walks and 7 balls).

Lotte and KBO officials are not the only ones who expressed expectations for Han Dong-hee's return. When Han Dong-hee was active on the high school stage, there were many promising promising promising players nationwide, including Kang Baek-ho, Noh Si-hwan (Hanhwa Eagles), and Lee Jae-won (LG Twins). Among them was Han Dong-hee, who was competing for the first and second places. In addition, excitement was natural because there were prospects who belatedly burst their potential like Song Sung-moon (30, San Diego Padres).

A Major League scout who has watched Han Dong-hee since then told Star News, "There were so many good prospects at that age. But I think Han Dong-hee was the best among those around her age. "I had the best power, and I had the best athletic ability, contact, and defense ability."

Expectations remained high because he was a more sincere player than anyone else. Not satisfied with last year's performance, Han Dong-hee went to Tsukuba University in Japan, where he became famous, by analyzing the batting mechanism of Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) this winter, and adjusted his hitting himself. There, he found weaknesses in flexibility and hip hinge, and tried to control balance through muscle reinforcement.

All that effort was put off for a while due to an unexpected injury. According to a Lotte team official, the degree of injury is not large, so if you get enough rest, you don't need any rehabilitation. However, it may be difficult to play until the opening match against the Samsung Lions on March 28.

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

*This content was translated by AI.