"Is this pro-level pitching?" Kim Kyung-moon delivers sharp rebuke → Park Jun-young stands apart with 'no walks + 0.083 batting average against in scoring position'... Hanwha discovers five starting pitchers

*This content was translated by AI.

"You're throwing balls every day. How can you call that professional?"

This was what Hanwha Eagles manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) emphasized loudly the previous day. He cited Ryu Hyun-jin, who achieved 200 career wins in Korea and the U.S., as a model, stressing that mastering control must come first. Just one day later, "development player miracle" Park Jun-young (24), who took the mound, precisely fulfilled the manager's expectations.

On the 27th, Park Jun-young started against the NC Dinos at Changwon NC Park in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League road game, throwing 86 pitches over 5⅔ innings, allowing 5 hits (2 home runs), issuing 1 walk, recording 6 strikeouts, and surrendering 3 earned runs.

Although he was pulled from the game after giving up back-to-back home runs, leaving just one out short of his first quality start (starting pitcher pitching 6+ innings with 3 or fewer earned runs), the more noteworthy statistic was his control. He allowed one hit by pitch but finished the game without issuing a walk.

Last year, Hanwha's pitching staff led the league with a 3.55 team ERA, a strength that helped the team reach the Korean Series for the first time in 19 years. However, this season their ERA has dropped to 5.04, placing them last in the league.

The most painful issue has been walks. Last year, Hanwha issued 450 walks, the second-lowest in the league, but this season, in just 48 games, they have allowed 224 walks—half of last year's total. They are currently in second place, trading places with the SSG Landers, who lead the league with 231 walks.

Manager Kim Kyung-moon had no choice but to raise his voice. He urged players to take Ryu Hyun-jin, who achieved 200 career wins in Korea and the U.S. on the 24th, as a model. Ryu Hyun-jin has been pitching this season as if determined to show his younger teammates exactly what it means to be a pro. While his 3.42 ERA is not overwhelmingly dominant, his walk-related statistics are impressive. In 9 games, he pitched 52⅔ innings, allowing only 8 walks. His walks per 9 innings stand at 8.03, ranking second only to Raul Alcantara of the Kiwoom Heroes (1.25 walks per 9 innings). Consequently, his walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is 1.04, also ranking second. By rarely allowing baserunners, he maintains stable pitching and naturally enters a virtuous cycle that enables him to pitch long innings.

Manager Kim stated, "I understand that young players are all attending academies to increase their pitch speed, but is baseball just about velocity? If you can't control the ball and throw strikes, that's a problem we need to consider." He added, "You must be able to throw strikes. Control and command are essential. If you claim to be a professional pitcher but throw balls every day, how can you call that professional?"

He continued, "First, you must master control before you can battle batters or mix strikes in and out. Without needing to look at other teams, our own team has senior players who serve as great models for our young players. Even at a young age, they need to reflect on this. It's not about trying harder to add 1, 2, or 3 kilometers per hour to your speed."

This is why Park Jun-young's pitching drew particular attention. After being rejected three times in the rookie draft and playing for an independent league team, Park Jun-young underwent testing before the season and joined Hanwha as a development player.

In the Futures League, he appeared in 7 games, posting a 4-0 record with a 1.29 ERA, delivering dominant performances. On the 10th, he was called up and pitched 5 scoreless innings against the LG Twins, writing new history as the first development player in KBO history to earn a starting win in his debut game.

Following two relief appearances where he allowed consecutive runs, Park Jun-young was given another chance to start. His fastball topped out at 144 km/h, lacking the overpowering velocity to dominate batters, but he mixed his pitches effectively, throwing more than half of his 86 pitches as a wriggling snake curveball (45 pitches), along with sliders (18 pitches), forkballs (13 pitches), and curves (10 pitches), achieving a 65% strike rate (56 of 86 pitches).

He did not engage in a strategy of avoiding contact even when hit. Thanks to this approach, he allowed two large doubles and gave up runs in the first inning against an aggressive NC lineup, but he remained steady even with runners on base.

His precisely located pitches induced groundouts from NC batters and recorded numerous strikeouts. This also improved the effectiveness of his breaking balls. In the third inning, after allowing a hit by pitch to Kim Ju-won with one out and surrendering a stolen base, he did not allow any runs. In the fourth inning, he gave up a hit to Park Geon-woo but induced a double play to erase the baserunners.

Park Jun-young held the line through 71 pitches through the fifth inning, securing the conditions for a win. However, when he returned to the mound in the sixth, he appeared to tire, allowing back-to-back home runs to Park Min-woo and Park Geon-woo after two outs before handing the ball to Kim Jong-soo.

Although the ending was disappointing, considering he is a candidate for the fifth starting pitcher, the result was highly encouraging. His walks per 9 innings stood at 3.55, ranking fourth among starting pitchers behind Owen White (1.32), Ryu Hyun-jin (1.37), and Wang Yencheng (3.51). This was better than numbers from Will Hernandez (3.61) and Moon Dong-ju (4.07).

His season record stands at 4 games, 12⅔ innings, 1 win, 1 hold, and a 3.55 ERA. His batting average against was 0.255, but in scoring position, he became a completely different pitcher. In 13 plate appearances, he allowed 1 hit, 1 walk, and recorded 5 strikeouts, with a batting average against of 0.083—an overwhelming performance.

A perfect candidate to fill the void left by Moon Dong-ju, who ended his season on the operating table, has appeared like a gift. This performance is especially welcome for the veteran who has not hesitated to criticize the pitching staff.

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*This content was translated by AI.