'Can HAN Su-ho Continue His MVP Surge?' Samsung vs. Lotte, NC vs. KT Clash... 2026 Medihill KBO Futures League 'Monday Baseball' Held

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 Medihill KBO Futures League 'Monday Night Baseball' will be held simultaneously at 6 p.m. on the 20th in Iksan and Sajik.

In Iksan, NC will face KT, while in Sajik, Samsung will take on Lotte. The NC-KT game in Iksan will be broadcast live on tvN SPORTS and TVING, and the Samsung-Lotte game in Sajik will be broadcast live on KBS N SPORTS and TVING.

▶ NC vs. KT

In Iksan, third-place NC from the Southern League will face fifth-place KT. This marks the 13th matchup between the two teams this season.

Home team KT has recorded 31 wins, 45 losses, and 1 tie in 77 games this season, with a winning percentage of 0.408. Notably, players who have stepped up in both pitching and batting are making their presence felt. In the lineup, An In-san has energized the team with 65 hits and 10 home runs. His home run total ranks tied for second in the Southern League, while his hit count places him tied for fourth.

On the mound, Kwon Seong-jun, who made the first-division spring camp roster this year, has established himself as a future starting pitcher. Joining KT in 2022, Kwon has appeared in 10 games this season with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses and an ERA of 4.47, serving as part of KT's Futures League starting rotation.

Visiting team NC has recorded 37 wins and 36 losses in 73 games this season, with a winning percentage of 0.507. Their recent 10-game record stands at 6 wins and 4 losses. NC's upward momentum stems from their power-hitting ability. With 63 home runs as a team, they lead the entire Futures League in that category. Alongside Han Jae-hwan, who has been called up to the first division with 15 home runs in the Futures League, Park In-woo (7 home runs), Go Jun-hwi, and Kim Beom-jun (both 6 home runs), Oh Jang-han, and Oh Tae-yang (both 5 home runs) are contributing consistently throughout the lineup. Han Seok-hyun, who has been active in both the KBO League and Futures League, is also aiming for a return to the first division after hitting .419 (13 hits in 31 at-bats) over his last 10 games.

Today's starting pitchers will be KT's Lee Sang-woo and NC's Lee Jun-hyeok on the mound. Lee Sang-woo has appeared in 11 games this season, currently holding a winless record with 4 losses and an ERA of 7.00. A fellow trainee from the same class as Park Young-hyun and Yoo Sin-go at KT, Lee was selected eighth overall in the first round of the 2022 KBO Second Draft and made his KBO League debut in the 2022 season after donning a KT uniform. He has yet to appear in a first-division game but aims to make the jump to the first division based on his Futures League performance.

Facing him is NC's Lee Jun-hyeok, who has recorded 1 win, 1 loss, 1 hold, and 1 save in 12 Futures League games with an ERA of 3.00. This will be his second start of the season following his appearance against Samsung on July 6. Having contributed to NC's bullpen this season with 19 first-division appearances, 1 hold, and an ERA of 3.00, Lee is aiming for a return to the first division alongside his strong Futures League performances.

▶ Samsung vs. Lotte

In Sajik, second-place Lotte from the Southern League will face sixth-place Samsung. Home team Lotte has recorded 43 wins, 30 losses, and 1 tie in 74 games this season, with a winning percentage of 0.589. Visiting team Samsung sits in sixth place with 30 wins and 45 losses in 75 games, holding a winning percentage of 0.400.

Today's starting pitchers will feature a matchup between a veteran with 10 years of professional experience and a rookie: Lotte's Park Se-jin and Samsung's Lee Seo-joon will take the mound respectively.

Park Se-jin, who left KT last year to join Lotte and is now playing alongside his older brother Park Se-woong, has posted an 8-1 record with a 1.55 ERA in 14 games this season, leading the Southern League in both ERA and wins among pitchers. Samsung's Lee Seo-joon, a rookie pitcher born in 2007, has appeared in 15 Futures League games this season with a record of 2 wins, no losses, 1 hold, and an ERA of 4.15. Over 26 innings pitched, he recorded 21 strikeouts.

In the Samsung lineup, Nam Southern League batting champion Lee Chang-yong and Futures All-Star Game MVP Han Su-ho stand out. Lee has hit .339 in 70 games this season and is aiming for another call-up to the first division, leveraging his prior experience. Han Su-ho was selected as the starting fifth hitter for the Southern League All-Stars at left field in the 2026 KBO Futures League All-Star Game held on July 10 at Jamsil. He recorded 3 hits in 4 at-bats (including 1 home run), 1 RBI, and 1 run scored, earning MVP honors. This season, Han has hit .299 with 3 home runs and 23 RBIs in 50 games, and today's game will be watched closely to see if he can continue his momentum from the All-Star Game.

Lotte also saw Jo Min-young and Lee Ji-hoon represent the Southern League All-Stars, both recording hits. Jo has led Lotte's lineup with a .347 batting average, 7 home runs, and 38 RBIs in 60 games, while Lee has excelled as the team's offensive leader with a .261 batting average and 10 stolen bases in 58 games.

Meanwhile, this season's 'Monday Night Baseball' series has played 20 games through June 29, drawing a total of 543,676 viewers across TV and wireless platforms. The highest-rated game was the May 11 Hanwha-NC matchup, which achieved a viewership rating of 0.260% with 66,380 viewers on both wired and wireless platforms.

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*This content was translated by AI.