'With' AG strong left-handed pitcher, 157 km/h An Woo-jin faced 7 innings, 84 pitches, KKKK powerful pitching... Ryu Ji-hyun's dilemma grows

*This content was translated by AI.

KT left-hander Oh Won-seok (25) delivered an even match against the league's ace, An Woo-jin (28, Kiwoom Heroes), and has emerged as a strong candidate to join the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games team.

On the 8th, Oh Won-seok pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 5 batters without allowing a run, leading KT to an 8-0 victory in the game against Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok.

This was a strong performance that made up for the disappointment of the previous game on the 2nd against Suwon KIA Tigers, where he pitched 5⅔ innings and allowed 5 runs. He did not lose ground even in the matchup against An Woo-jin.

An Woo-jin, who is in the build-up process after returning from injury, threw a fastball clocking up to 157 km/h against KT batters that day. He threw a total of 76 pitches, including 34 sliders, 25 fastballs, 9 curveballs, and 8 changeups. It seems he has been unable to pitch many innings, striking out 8 batters over 4 innings without allowing a run, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, likely because he has been holding back the splitter, which has recently been drawing attention.

Oh Won-seok also stood out with efficient pitching backed by his velocity. That day, he mixed in a fastball clocking up to 147 km/h (38 pitches) and threw a total of 84 pitches, including 25 changeups, 16 curveballs, and 5 sliders, overwhelming the Kiwoom batters.

In particular, his confident inside pitching against right-handed batters was impressive. He effectively utilized the strike zone on both sides and managed to pitch many innings with fewer pitches. The most pitches thrown in an inning was 19 in the 2nd inning, followed by 7 in the 1st, 8 in the 6th, and 9 in the 7th. Even after surpassing 80 pitches, his fastball maintained its sharpness.

Through this game, Oh Won-seok has continued his steady performance with 7 games, 4 wins, 2 losses, an ERA of 2.63, 41 innings, 36 strikeouts, a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.12, and a batting average against of 0.248 for the season.

Showing steady performance again this year following last year, Oh Won-seok has naturally emerged as a strong candidate for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. According to StarNews, the Lee Beon (CEO) team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun (55), has decided to set its own selection criteria of 'under 25 years old or within the 4th year of professional debut,' just like in the previous tournament. Regardless of birthday, those born in 2001 or later meet the condition.

KT, which is in first place in the league, has an unusually large number of young players who meet the Asian Games selection criteria. Having already produced 4 Myeong Ui (CEO) players for the 2026 WBC, KT is also likely to send the largest number of players to this Asian Games.

So Hyoung-jun (25) and Ahn Hyun-min (23), who were members of the WBC team, are currently taking a brief break due to injuries, but they are players who have already proven their potential on the international stage. So Hyoung-jun is highly valuable as he is the player who best utilizes the two-seam fastball, a trend in modern baseball. Last year's KBO Rookie of the Year, Ahn Hyun-min, is also known as a batter who will be responsible for the national team's cleanup lineup in the future with his unique eye for the ball and power.

Park Young-hyun (23), who has been blocking the back door of the national team for several years and contributed to the Asian Games gold medal, has absolutely no reason to be left out. He is heading toward a career high with 16 games, 2 wins, no losses, 9 saves, an ERA of 2.37, 19 innings, 19 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.00, and a batting average against of 0.194.

Oh Won-seok is classified as a resource needed by the national team, which is currently concerned about the lack of left-handed pitchers to follow in the footsteps of Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles), Kim Kwang-hyun (38, SSG Landers), and Yang Hyeon-jong (38, KIA Tigers) on the recent international stage. Just earlier this year, during the World Baseball Classic (WBC), Korea struggled against left-handed batters.

One concern is the balance among teams. Although the Lee Beon (CEO) team does not have a per-team quota, the manager cannot ignore it. With the Gi Jon (CEO) team members still in place and Oh Won-seok showing excellent performance, manager Ryu Ji-hyun's dilemma is expected to grow.

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*This content was translated by AI.