"Wow." Lotte is awesome! From his first year as a rookie in 2R, he stood in front of Choi Jun-yong and Kim Won-joong, and the head coach also smiled, saying, "He throws very well... "I'm also thinking about winning"

*This content was translated by AI.

Has the Lotte Giants found a big rookie. College graduate rookie Park Jung-min (23) is likely to take the mound as a must-win group as well as the opening entry from his first year of debut.

Park Jung-min is a right-hander who was nominated by Lotte as the 14th overall in the second round of the 2026 KBO Rookie Draft after graduating from Mae Song-joong, Jangchungo, and Hanil Jangshin University. Throwing a fast ball of up to 152km/h, the change-up is considered the most complete among rookies this year due to its strength.

Kim Poong-chul, head of the Lotte Scout Team, told Star News, "Park Jung-min is basically a player with good game management ability. "He pitches aggressively on the mound regardless of whether he is a left-handed hitter or a right-handed hitter," he said. "In particular, he has excellent change-up skills, but it is difficult for left-handed hitters to respond because he fell into a similar trajectory to fastball."

As expected, he is the only rookie to be listed in this year's spring camp, and he is pitching three scoreless games in exhibition games. He walked one and struck out three in two ⅓ innings. The head coach also gave him a passing point.

Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Park Jung-min is good at throwing, but the count fight didn't work when he faced the first batter. He mentioned the disappointment first, saying, "When throwing the fastball, there is a part where it flies a little upward because of the strength." At the same time, he said, "From the next batter, I can catch my control right away and throw well. The breaking ball and change-up are so good. I've been throwing very well so far," he said, expressing satisfaction.

The use for good performances has also been upgraded. The original plan was long relief, but the possibility of taking the mound in front of Kim Won-joong and setup man Choi Jun-yong was mentioned for stable performance. Head coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "I was thinking of writing it for a long time, but I'm also thinking of a must-win group. "I'm thinking of Lee Min-seok or Kyoyama to throw long (instead) in the bullpen," he said.

Last year, Lotte showed weakness in its back with a 4.65 ERA (8th in the league). To make matters worse, Park Jin, an all-weather bullpen who played 69 ⅓ innings last year, was out for the season due to right elbow ligament joint surgery (Tommy John Surgery) and needed reinforcement. Will Park Jung-min be able to safely join the opening entry and take over the axis of Lotte's bullpen.

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*This content was translated by AI.