[Video] If we got 8 billion FA, we wouldn't have seen it! 19-year-old rookie Shim Woo-joon and Park Chan-ho made him forget

*This content was translated by AI.

KT Wiz high school rookie infielder Lee Kang-min (19) is making fans excited by showing a strong presence in defense.

KT beat the Doosan Bears 7-3 in the final game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League exhibition game at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 24th.

Starting pitcher Caleb Boschley became the winning pitcher with a stable performance of five hits, three strikeouts, and one run in six innings. In the batting lineup, the allocation team was the only multi-hit in the team. However, Oh Yoon-seok and Han Seung-taek finished adjusting their hitting sense by hitting nine long and short hits, including home runs.

On this day, the starting shortstop finished the exhibition game with Lee Kang-min, a high school graduate rookie. The final result was a batting average of 0.219 (7 hits in 32 at-bats) with two RBIs, one run and one stolen base, and a on-base percentage of 0.242 slugging percentage of 0.281 in all 12 games.

However, many KT fans are unlikely to see Lee Kang-min joining the opening game entry negatively. Lee Kang-min, who graduated from Suwon Yushin High School in his hometown, was the first among KT fielders to be called 16th in the second round of the 2026 KBO Rookie Draft. Stable shortstop defense and increasing hitting were evaluated as strengths. In particular, the defense was expected to perform in the first division with fast batting judgment and smooth connection movements like Park Jin-man (50), who was famous as a famous shortstop in the past.

KT coach Lee Kang-chul, who values defense in the fielders' first-team call-up, also heard it early. After the end of last season, news of sincere training attitude and stable defense came from the closing camps in Taiwan and Japan to South Korea. In the spring camp, third baseman Huh Kyung-min, second baseman Kim Sang-soo, first baseman Kim Hyun-soo, and main infielders received funkos, virtually confirming their entry for the opening game.

Lee Kang-min, who met during the Okinawa spring camp in Japan, said, "What coaches always say was that you should be stable because you are fast enough even if you take your time. I also expressed my determination to enter the real game, saying, "My goal is to become a player who anyone can think of as an out with confidence when the ball comes to me."

Since then, the 12 practice and exhibition games have been a showcase to prove to fans that KT's internal evaluation was not wrong and that his determination was not a lie. It was intense from the start. In the bottom of the fourth inning against the Lotte Giants in Busan on the 12th, which was the first game of the exhibition game, Han Dong-hee sent a strong ground ball that was biased toward the third base. Third baseman Huh Kyung-min also failed to chase, but Lee Kang-min blew himself away and caught him.

The process afterwards was good. There was no need to catch and get up and spray to the first base. Throwing it with the first baseman's glove exactly, he showed that he had enough shoulders to play shortstop on the professional stage.

The game against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 14th was outstanding. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Park Jung-woo attempted to steal second base with two outs and a runner on first base. KT catcher Cho Dae-hyun also noticed early and threw it to second base with a pitch out. The place where the throw touched was a little off the second base, but Lee Kang-min quickly entered the dropout point and tagged Park Jung-woo to end the inning. The whole process continued smoothly without excessive action.

The defense in the top of the third inning against the Suwon NC Dinos on the 22nd was the result of repeated training. Lee Kang-min said, "I've practiced a lot since practice, so it's rather fun when I come to the game. As soon as the ball hits, I have a feeling of what to do. When the ball that I practiced comes, it will be more fun and I will actively catch it," he said, expressing confidence.

Again this time, the ground ball was skewed toward third base and headed deep. However, as soon as Lee Kang-min was hit, the movement quickly caught the falling ball point and threw it to second base. Even when his posture collapsed, he ended the inning by spraying it exactly over the second base with his strong shoulders.

Of course, some mistakes were made. Many were caused by irregular boundaries due to infield ground experienced for the first time. This is what KT also takes by hiring high school graduates.

Given that he almost didn't even see this, several mistakes were seen as a cute act. After the end of last season, KT aimed to strengthen its center line and aimed at FA shortstop Park Chan-ho (31). With Park Chan-ho heading to Doosan for four years and 8 billion won, KT turned 180 degrees to internal competition.

So far, it seems to have become a blessing in disguise. High school rookie shortstop's strong performance has already made KT fans forget the founding members Shim Woo-joon (31) and Park Chan-ho, who left two years ago after signing a four-year, five-billion-won FA contract. Coach Lee Kang-chul also hinted at the possibility of being the main shortstop when asked about Lee Kang-min joining the opening entry during the exhibition game.

KT is also known as a rookie restaurant recognized by KBO. In the 11th year of entering the first team, he has already produced four rookie awards. Last year, when he failed to advance to the postseason for the first time in six years, he was able to laugh at the appearance of "KT Wiz + Gorilla" Ahn Hyun-min (23). Lee Kang-min is not a player who shows brilliant modifiers or plays like his predecessors. However, it seems clear that a prospect that makes KT fans excited even before the season.

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

*This content was translated by AI.