'80 billion' Ha Young-min's injury comeback game, essentially a normal pitching performance! Manager says "He will throw around 90 to 100 pitches"

*This content was translated by AI.

Ha Young-min (31), the Kiwoom Heroes right-handed pitcher who signed a long-term contract worth '8 years, 80 billion won,' is set to immediately return to normal pitching form in his comeback game shortly after recovering from a hip injury. There is essentially no limit on his pitch count.

On the 15th, ahead of the KT Wiz game at Suwon KT Wiz Park, Kiwoom Heroes registered Ha Young-min and veteran catcher Kim Jae-hyun to the first division roster while removing infielder Kim Tae-jin and catcher Kim Dong-heon. With the return of starting pitcher Ha Young-min, who had been sidelined due to injury, there was also a change in the home field strength.

When asked by StarNews about the pitch count plan for Ha Young-min taking the mound as the starter today, Kiwoom manager Seol Jong-jin (53) said, "If there are no unexpected variables or issues, we plan to have him throw between 90 and 100 pitches normally." He added, "While we will also consider the game situation and score difference, this should be viewed as a normal starting appearance after taking about one turn of rest upon his return." This demonstrates strong trust in assigning him the ace role without any pitch count restrictions.

Ha Young-min has appeared in 19 games this season with a record of 4 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 4.60. After recording 5 innings, 9 hits allowed, 2 walks, and 3 earned runs in the Lotte game on the 4th at Sajik Stadium, he felt discomfort in his hip and was removed from the roster. However, he took only about one turn of rest and has already begun preparations for a normal starting appearance. He showed solid performance in three games against KT this season with 1 win, no losses, and an ERA of 2.16.

Meanwhile, Manager Seol also conveyed both encouragement and areas for improvement regarding Park Jun-hyun's pitching, who took the mound as the starter for the KT game on the previous day (14th) but came off the mound after just 3⅓ innings. On the 14th, Park recorded 3⅓ innings, 3 hits allowed, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs before handing the mound to Bae Dong-hyun.

Manager Seol Jong-jin stated, "Usually, young rookie pitchers have fast velocity but often face challenges with control." He added, "(Park) Jun-hyun is also instructed to throw the pitches he wants to throw comfortably on the mound, but under tension, the balance between his fastball and breaking balls can waver, leading to consecutive walks. He needs to gradually find his balance and study to grow."

He also explained the background behind the catcher lineup adjustments due to roster changes. Manager Seol said, "With Ha Young-min's registration, we made changes to the catcher lineup as well. (Kim) Geon-hee, who has established himself as a starter, has shown noticeable growth in pitcher leadership and handling crisis situations, gaining experience. We judged that veteran Kim Jae-hyun's experience would be necessary for late-game defensive substitutions and stable game management."

Regarding the removed Kim Dong-heon, he added, "We judged that it would be more beneficial for his future growth to stay in the Futures League, directly playing many real games to build practical feel and experience, rather than remaining on the first division bench."

Meanwhile, it remains quite intriguing whether '80 billion starter' Ha Young-min, who has returned from injury, will be able to add solid strength to the Kiwoom mound under the manager's trust.

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*This content was translated by AI.