Without Rayeyes, they are the 'batting average league last place'... The Lotte lineup has no answers; should they even rely on a development player with a .389 batting average?

*This content was translated by AI.

The Lotte Giants' lineup, which has struggled to find any signs of recovery, has left Kim Tae-hyung (59), the manager, sighing deeply.

On the 18th, Lotte lost 0-5 to Hanwha Eagles in a regular-season home game at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium, with a total attendance of 23,200 spectators.

Starting pitcher Jeremy Wisely (31) was forced to leave the game voluntarily after just 2⅓ innings due to dizziness. Meanwhile, the opposing starting pitcher, Ryu Hyun-jin (39), who had returned after a full ten-day rest, delivered a veteran performance with seven innings, four hits allowed, no walks, three strikeouts, and no earned runs.

However, the fundamental issue was a lineup that showed no signs of getting on base except for Victor Rayeyes (32). On this day, Lotte's lineup managed a total of five hits, with more than half—three hits—coming from leadoff hitter Rayeyes.

Even when Rayeyes reached base, there was no one to bring him home. Clean-up hitters Jeon Jun-woo (40) and Yoon Dong-hee (23) still could not find their timing. No Jin-hyuk (37), who had shown good hitting form since being called up, was also outmaneuvered by Ryu Hyun-jin's sweeper and fell into a three-game hitting slump.

This was not an unexpected outcome. On the 17th, before the game was canceled due to rain, Manager Kim Tae-hyung met with reporters and said, "The bats... there's no one who can hit. Our players are young, but their hitting form needs to improve a bit. When opposing teams look at our lineup...", pointing out the cold reality.

As of the end of the game on the 18th, Lotte's team batting average stood at 0.248, ranking seventh in the league. However, if Rayeyes' record of a .379 batting average (66 at-bats, 25 hits) is excluded, the team's batting average drops to 0.231, placing them last in the league.

There was always a belief that hitting would eventually improve, as it follows a cycle. Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Jeon Jun-woo is older, so if he plays as a designated hitter and manages his physical condition, he will do his best. Yoon Dong-hee is still watching videos of his at-bats and seems to be overthinking things in the batter's box. His left side is wide open.", expressing his concern.

Normally, when a manager's instincts are off, they boldly move underperforming position players down the lineup. However, there are no suitable hitters to replace them in the lower lineup spots. Recently, among Lotte's sixth-batter and below in the lower lineup, only one player, Han Taeyang (23), has maintained a batting average above .250. Even Han Taeyang, whose physical condition is declining and whose hitting form may be fading, is being carefully managed in the lineup to conserve his energy, which is the current reality for Lotte.

With no clear solution visible in the first-team roster, there is even a thought of relying on players with good hitting form in the Futures League. Coincidentally, on the same day, Lotte's Futures team secured a narrow 10-9 victory over Goyang Heroes in a high-scoring game where both teams combined for 20 hits.

Among them, Jo Min-young (21) and Kim Dong-hyun, who formed the clean-up hitters, demonstrated their recent good hitting form with Jo recording three hits in five at-bats, one hit-by-pitch, and one RBI, and Kim recording two hits in three at-bats, two walks, and one RBI.

Jo Min-young is a right-handed batter and right-handed thrower who attended Shinil High School, played for the Ibaraki Astro Planets, a Japanese independent league team, and joined Lotte as a development player last season. With strong contact ability, he is competing for the batting title in the Futures League this year with a .389 batting average (72 at-bats, 28 hits), one home run, 13 RBIs, six walks and hit-by-pitches (five walks, one hit-by-pitch), 14 strikeouts, a .436 on-base percentage, and a .556 slugging percentage.

Kim Dong-hyun is a right-handed batter and left-handed thrower who graduated from Jeomilpo High School and Busan University of Science and Technology, and was drafted in the sixth round, 54th overall, in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. He is known for his explosive power, having won the home run contest at the 2024 Hanwha Eagles Cup High School-University All-Star Game.

In this year's Futures League, he has started strong with a .324 batting average (68 at-bats, 22 hits), two home runs, 16 RBIs, 20 walks and hit-by-pitches (18 walks, two hit-by-pitches), 13 strikeouts, a .462 on-base percentage, and a .556 slugging percentage across 21 games.

Of course, there are no Lotte officials who expect the good performance in the Futures League to carry over to the first team. However, the sad reality for Lotte in April is that they must place their hopes on the good hitting form of development players and late-round draft picks.

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*This content was translated by AI.