"I've never seen him as a starter..." Where is the best spot for Kiwoom Dile Kiwoom 153km/day without Ahn Woo-jin?

*This content was translated by AI.

The Kiwoom Heroes are in trouble over the position of Yuto Kanakubo (27) in the Asian quarter ahead of the opening of the 2026 season.

Ahead of the exhibition game against the LG Twins in Jamsil on the 23rd, Kiwoom coach Seol Jong-jin (53) said, "I saw him throw as a starter and bullpen in the trial game, and I will consult with the coaches after the game tomorrow (23-24). Sooner or later, we will decide whether to send Yuto as a starter or to the bullpen," he said.

Kiwoom, which failed to form a foreign player team consisting of two fielders and one pitcher last year, has established a one-two punch system for foreigners this season, including Raul Alcantara and Nathan Wiles. The plan was to support Ahn Woo-jin and veteran Ha Young-min, who are 160km/h ace, and give young players a chance in the fifth starting position.

However, Ahn Woo-jin had shoulder ligament surgery in August last year and was rehabilitated until May this year, causing concerns. Yuto, who was recruited as the first Asian quarter of this year's Kiwoom, was considered one of the alternatives.

Yuto joined the Yakult Swallows as the fifth-ranked rookie draft of the 2017 Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) and made his first team debut in 2020. Since then, he has recorded five wins, four losses and one hold in 34 games and 69 strikeouts in 87 ⅔ innings in six seasons until last year. Analysts say that the heavy pitch from the maximum 153km/h fast ball is a strength that allows him to take the mound as a starting pitcher by using various breaking balls.

In fact, he started in an exhibition game against the Doosan Bears on the 13th and showed impressive performance with one hit, three walks, and one strikeout in three innings. However, many say that the best place is the bullpen that Yuto played mainly in Japan.

Coach Seol Jong-jin said, "First of all, our team has never seen Yuto as a starter, so we tested him. "I pitched well (as a starter), but if I need more intermediate roles as a team, I'm even thinking of Yuto as a bullpen," he said.

It is a reality that the back door leading to Kim Jae-woong and Cho Young-gun is as poor as the starting line. As one of the few fastball pitchers with Park Joon-hyun, it is the best scenario for Kiwoom for Yuto to take charge of the sixth to seventh innings. In the end, it depends on the performance of young pitchers who are classified as five starting candidates.

Currently, Kiwoom is classifying Jung Hyun-woo (20), the No. 1 overall rookie in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft, Kim Yoon-ha (21), a first-round rookie in 2024, and Bae Dong-hyun (28), who was brought in the second draft by Hanwha Eagles after last season, as the fifth starting candidate. In particular, Bae Dong-hyun made a strong impression by no-hit pitching with one walk and seven strikeouts in four innings against Incheon SSG Landers on the 22nd.

Coach Seol Jong-jin said, "(If Yuto goes to the middle), Kim Yoon-ha, Jung Hyun-woo and Bae Dong-hyun are the starting candidates. "I think Kim Yoon-ha and Jung Hyun-woo will throw one more time in the Futures League and make the final decision because the 4th and 5th starters will be absent anyway at the opening."

"Bae Dong-hyun's breaking ball control went well as he was arrested (in the game on the 22nd). As a result, I don't have a walk and go to a good route, and I think I've gotten a lot better than the game against Doosan (which was the first game)."

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*This content was translated by AI.