"We were so desperately looking for Kim Kwang-hyun's successor," the former team manager turned head coach recalled, drawing parallels to national team pitcher So Hyoung-jun after a rookie 20-year-old achieved four consecutive quality starts (QS). [Incheon Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

SSG Landers manager Lee Seung-yong (55) recalled the childhood of national team pitcher So Hyoung-jun (25, KT Wiz) when looking at rookie Kim Min-jun (20).

Manager Lee Seung-yong smiled ahead of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season away game against Lotte Giants scheduled to be held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 13th, stating, "The one-two punch has finally been realized. Avila has arrived, and we expected Min-jun to deliver a good performance had he not gotten injured during camp."

Kim Min-jun started against Lotte the previous day (the 12th), pitching six innings with three hits allowed (one home run), one walk, three strikeouts, and one earned run, leading his team to a 9-1 victory. This marked his fifth quality start (QS) of the season—defined as starting six or more innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs—and his fourth consecutive QS since the match against Busan Lotte on the 23rd last month.

This is the 13th time in KBO history that a high school rookie has achieved this feat in their debut season. The most recent instances were Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles) in 2006 and So Hyoung-jun (25, KT Wiz) in 2020. For SSG, it is the second time since Je Chun-mo in 2002.

He mixed his pitches effectively, throwing a fastball reaching up to 148 km/h (51 pitches), forkball (20 pitches), slider (13 pitches), and curveball (8 pitches), efficiently handling Lotte batters. Manager Lee Seung-yong said, "Honestly, even when we heard Kim Kwang-hyun was getting surgery, we had the card of Kim Min-jun ready, so our worries were lessened."

He added, "Min-jun is proving himself more with each game he plays. He is a rookie who doesn't seem like a rookie. I feel his attitude and actions toward baseball are very mature, and I believe he will grow significantly overall."

Watching Kim Min-jun's rapid growth, the head coach was reminded of franchise stars Kim Kwang-hyun (38) and So Hyoung-jun (25, KT Wiz).

So Hyoung-jun joined KT after being selected first overall in the 2020 KBO Rookie Draft following his graduation from Yugo High School. In his debut season, he recorded 13 wins and six losses to win the KBO Shin In-wang-eul (수상). He later earned his first national team jersey at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and grew into a key pitcher for the national team.

With So Hyoung-jun's emergence, the history of KT, the youngest franchise in the KBO, also changed. Since So Hyoung-jun's debut year, KT has advanced to the postseason five consecutive years and achieved its first-ever unified championship in 2021. Manager Lee Seung-yong served as KT's team manager from 2019 to 2022, witnessing So Hyoung-jun's childhood and growth process firsthand.

Manager Lee Seung-yong emphasized, "Until now, our team struggled so much looking for successors to Kim Kwang-hyun and Choi Jeong, but we are now seeing players who are beginning to sprout. As you know when looking at all 10 franchises, having two native starting pitchers makes a huge difference."

He continued with a smile, "We used to think of young players as bonuses, but if they perform well, their significance becomes even greater. Athletes engage in unseen competition; if young players like Kim Min-jun do well, players like Kim Geon-woo will also strive harder. For example, at the team I previously managed (KT), So Hyoung-jun changed many things. There were changes when a high school rookie joined and performed well, and now we see that same potential in (Kim) Min-jun."

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*This content was translated by AI.