'Enlisted with KIA' Army Kim Min-jae and 'From the Best Baseball' Goyang Won Sung-jun honored with May 'Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month' award

*This content was translated by AI.

The top low-year players who shone in May of the 2026 Medihill KBO Futures League have been selected.

The KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) announced on the 9th that Army pitcher Kim Min-jae (23) and Goyang Heroes outfielder Won Sung-jun (26) were selected as the May Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month winners in the pitcher and batter categories, respectively.

Kim Min-jae, the winner in the pitcher category, started all four Futures League games in May, pitching 23 innings (3rd in the Northern Division), recording an ERA of 2.74 (4th in the Northern Division) and 4 wins (1st overall). Notably, he secured victories in all four games he appeared in, achieving a Quality Start (QS) in three of them, demonstrating his reliability as a starting pitcher.

After attending Shinil High School and Dongwon University of Science and Technology, Kim Min-jae was selected by KIA in the 7th round of the 2024 Rookie Draft. He enlisted in the Army in May 2025. Having previously won the Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month award in September of the same year shortly after enlistment, Kim Min-jae received his second personal honor, Lee Beon (수상).

Won Sung-jun, the winner in the batter category, showcased sharp hitting in the Futures League over May with 24 hits (1st in the Northern Division) and 18 RBIs (2nd in the Northern Division). He also posted strong individual statistics, including a batting average of 0.343 (5th in the Northern Division), a slugging percentage of 0.571 (3rd in the Northern Division), and an on-base percentage of 0.466 (3rd in the Northern Division), earning his name as the first recipient in Goyang Heroes club history. A graduate of Gyeonggi High School and Sungkyunkwan University, Won Sung-jun has continued to grow steadily in the Futures League after joining Kiwoom as a developmental player in 2024.

The winner of the May Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month will receive a commemorative trophy, along with a cash prize of 500,000 won and Medihill cosmetic products worth 500,000 won, sponsored by title sponsor Medihill.

Meanwhile, the monthly Medihill Futures Rookie of the Month award was first established in 2024 through the sponsorship of Medihill, the title sponsor of the Futures League. It was created to encourage low-year players active in the Futures League and to support the development of promising young players.

The selection criteria target players in their 1st to 3rd year of enlistment who meet the required innings or plate appearances in the Futures League, ultimately selecting the top pitcher and batter based on the monthly WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the Futures League.

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*This content was translated by AI.