'Kim Do-young's peer' Korean top STL prospect, 10 games and 7 home runs in Double-A with insane performance! Three-game consecutive home run explosion

*This content was translated by AI.

Jo Won-bin (23), who is active with the Springfield Cardinals, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, has a home run pace that can only be described as a 'gale'. His bat, considered one of the top 2003-born hitting prospects leading the future of Korean baseball alongside Kim Do-young (23·KIA Tigers) and Ahn Hyun-min (23·KT Wiz), shows no sign of cooling down.

On the 6th (Korean time), Jo Won-bin started at sixth hitter and left fielder in a home game against the Arkansas Travelers (a Seattle Mariners affiliate) held at Route 66 Stadium in Springfield, Missouri, USA. He hit his seventh home run of the Double-A season with a massive arch in the bottom of the fourth inning.

With his team trailing 1-4, Jo Won-bin faced pitcher Adam Reberet and connected on the third pitch, which was a mistake ball right down the middle from a favorable 2-0 count. The moment the bat made contact, accompanied by a crisp sound, everyone could instantly sense it was a home run; it was an overwhelming hit. This extended Jo Won-bin's streak of three consecutive games with a home run. Since being called up to Double-A, he has demonstrated incredible power, hitting seven home runs in his last 10 games.

Jo Won-bin, who previously became a target for Major League Baseball scouts by winning first place in the Under-17 Home Run Derby at the 'Power Showcase' held in Texas, USA, signed an international amateur contract in 2022 and boarded a plane to the United States wearing a St. Louis uniform. His signing bonus was $500,000 (approximately 800 million won).

Having steadily climbed the ranks on the minor league stage, he exploded this season. Last May, while playing for High Single-A, he posted astonishing stats over one month: a .325 batting average, 5 home runs, 27 hits, 24 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.097, sweeping both the Midwest League 'Player of the Week' award and the team's 'Player of the Month for May'. Empowered by this performance, the St. Louis Cardinals promoted Jo Won-bin to Double-A on the 23rd of last month.

The Double-A stage was too small for Jo Won-bin. In his second game after being called up, on the 25th of last month against the Arkansas Naturals, he capped off his promotion with a home run for his first hit and has since completely dominated the stage. Notably, he has now hit three consecutive home runs, including the one on the 6th.

A graduate of Seoul Convention High School, Jo Won-bin was selected for the 2021 Youth National Team. At that time, names such as Kim Do-young, Samsung Lions' Kim Young-woong and Lee Jae-hyun, Hanwha Eagles' Heo In-seo, Kiwoom Heroes' Park Chan-hyuk, Lotte Giants' Jo Se-jin, and LG Twins' Choi Won-young were listed. On the pitching side, Hanwha Eagles' Moon Dong-ju, KT Wiz's Park Young-hyun, and KIA Tigers' Choi Ji-min were also selected.

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*This content was translated by AI.