'Korean New History' Development Player Myth, Just One Out Short of First QS... Aggressive Pitching Proves 'Five-Start Eligibility' [Changwon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

'Fiery' pitcher Park Jun-young (24, Hanwha Eagles) once again made his case to manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) that he is built for the starting rotation.

Park Jun-young started against NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park on the 27th in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League road game, throwing 86 pitches over 5⅔ innings, allowing five hits (two home runs), one walk, striking out six, and giving up three earned runs.

Although he came down without securing a win after surrendering back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to take the lead, the result left a significant meaning for Hanwha, which was searching for a fifth starter.

He has been a pitcher with many twists and turns. Despite being knocked out three times in the KBO rookie draft, Park Jun-young joined the independent league team Paju Challengers in 2023 after attending Cheongwon University and gained attention from baseball fans by joining the baseball variety program 'Bulkkot Baseball'.

After finishing last season and undergoing testing, Park Jun-young signed a development player contract with Hanwha and dominated in the Futures League, going 7-0 with an ERA of 1.29 in seven games.

With a hole in its starting rotation, Hanwha called up Park Jun-young, who made history from his first-team debut. Starting against LG Twins on the 10th, he threw 79 pitches over five innings, allowing three hits, three walks, and striking out two while pitching scoreless, emerging as a new hope for the Hanwha starting staff.

However, he was later moved to the bullpen and appeared in two games, allowing runs in both, leaving a sense of regret. Jung Woo-ju, who had been given the chance to start, returned to the bullpen, giving Park Jun-young the opportunity.

Ahead of today's game, Hwang Jun-seo was called up from the Futures League. Although he left a disappointing record and was sent back to the minor league, he posted an overwhelming ERA of 1.99 in the Futures League.

Before the game, manager Kim Kyung-moon said, "Actually, I was a bit torn about whether to use (Hwang) Jun-seo or (Park) Jun-young today. But since Jun-young is making his debut, we decided to try him first and prepare for the next game based on his performance." The plan was to have Hwang Jun-seo ready as a 1+1 option if Park Jun-young faltered early.

However, that did not happen. Park Jun-young achieved the most innings of his career with a performance as impressive as his debut, showcasing unbelievable talent that seemed hard to believe from a rookie. In the bottom of the first, he was attacked on the first pitch by leadoff batter Kim Ju-won, and the ball hit the center-field fence for a large double. He also allowed a stolen base at third. After striking out Han Seok-hyun with a wriggling fastball, he gave up another double to Park Min-woo, tying the game 1-1.

It seemed difficult to expect the same result as the game on the 10th against LG Twins, where he made history by becoming the first development player to earn a starting win in his debut.

However, Park Jun-young retired Park Geon-woo with a groundout to shortstop and finished the inning by striking out Lee Woo-seong with a perfect curveball after a seven-pitch battle.

In the second inning, he struck out Matt Davidson with a forkball inside and Park Si-won with a pitch on the inside edge, recording a strikeout and a looking strikeout, respectively, ending the inning easily with three up, three down.

In the third inning, after allowing a hit-by-pitch to Kim Ju-won with one out, he also surrendered a stolen base but did not waver in scoring position, calmly retiring the runners.

In the fourth, he allowed a hit to leadoff batter Park Geon-woo but induced a double play to retire the runners and struck out Davidson with a perfect curveball. In the fifth, he struck out Kim Hyung-jun with a high fastball and finished the inning cleanly with three up, three down.

His pitch count through five innings was 71. Park Jun-young, who threw 79 pitches in his first start and had to be pulled after the sixth inning, took the mound again in the sixth today.

In the sixth, with two outs, Park Min-woo was ahead 3-1 in the count. Park Jun-young threw a 136 km/h fastball to regain control, but it was hit over the right-field fence for a tying solo home run.

Painful results followed. He gave up a go-ahead solo home run to Park Geon-woo over the left-field fence. This time, despite a perfect low inside curveball in a favorable 1-2 count, Park Geon-woo lifted it well, resulting in a large home run over the outfield wall.

His pitch count reached 86. Judging that his strength was fading, Hanwha decided to make a change. Lee Sang-gyu entered the game and struck out Kwon Hee-dong to finish the inning. In the top of the seventh, Sim Woo-jun hit a tying solo home run, erasing the loss condition.

His fastball reached a top speed of 144 km/h, and he threw more than half of his 86 pitches — 45 — with his fastball. He mixed in sliders (18 pitches), forkballs (13 pitches), and curveballs (10 pitches) effectively to shut down the NC lineup. 65% (56 of 86) of his pitches were strikes, and his pitching that avoided damage pleased manager Kim Kyung-moon.

Although he was pulled with just one out remaining, having achieved his first quality start (six or more innings, three or fewer earned runs), the result was sufficiently satisfying for Hanwha, which is searching for a fifth starter.

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*This content was translated by AI.