"Player with 20 home runs" praised by manager, a prospect with a .545 batting average, unfortunately excluded from the first-division roster [Gocheok]

*This content was translated by AI.

"If left alone for a year, he will hit 20 home runs."

Lee Ho-jun (50), manager of the NC Dinos, highly praised outfielder Oh Jang-han (24), who was unfortunately excluded from the first-division roster after playing only seven games.

The manager stated on the 10th ahead of the game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, "Oh Jang-han has discomfort in his hamstring. If he continues playing and tears it, it will take a long time to recover, so we removed him from the roster quickly." Oh Jang-han started as the center fielder batting seventh in the game against Kiwoom the previous day (9th), but went only two at-bats (a shortstop fly out and a strikeout) before being replaced by pinch-hitter Park Si-won in the bottom of the fifth inning.

A right-handed batter who bats left-handed, Oh Jang-han was selected in the second round, 26th overall, in the 2021 Rookie Draft. He played only one game in his first year and three games in 2023 before completing his military service at the Army Baseball Team. This season, he played one game on April 10 against the Samsung Lions (two at-bats, no hits), but was sent down to the Futures League due to a hamstring injury.

After returning to the first-division roster on the 2nd in a game against Samsung, he drew attention by hitting powerfully day after day. Through the game against the LG Twins on the 7th, he recorded a weekly batting average of 0.545 (12 hits in 22 at-bats) over six games, with two doubles, one home run, and five RBIs.

Manager Lee Ho-jun, ahead of the previous day's game against Kiwoom, said about Oh Jang-han, "He has many good qualities. He worked very hard since last year's closing camp, and it is rewarding to see good results this year. He has high potential for further development, and if he continues to play as a regular, he will hit 20 home runs in a season. If he starts from the beginning of next season, he will become a truly formidable hitter," expressing great expectations.

Meanwhile, NC removed four players from the roster, including Oh Jang-han, Kim Tae-kyung, Choi Yo-han, and Lee Jun. In their place, Kim Tae-hoon, Cheon Jae-hwan, Choi Sung-young, and Song Myeong-gi were registered for the first-division roster.

Lee Yong-jun, who was substituted during the fourth inning of the previous day's game due to pain in his right inner thigh muscle, is scheduled to decide on his exclusion from the roster after checking his physical condition for another one or two days.

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*This content was translated by AI.