‘Even the 20th-year-old ace with a 14-win record falls’ — Korean national baseball team in crisis! NC’s 1st-round fireballer also suffers elbow injury… Two pitchers out ahead of APBC

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The situation is critical. Choi Min-seok (20), who led the Doosan Bears to a postseason berth with 14 wins in this year’s KBO League, has once again missed the opportunity to wear the national team jersey. With NC Dinos’ high-potential power pitcher Shin Young-woo (22) also dropping out due to injury, the Korean national baseball team is forced to restructure its pitching staff ahead of the Asia Pro Baseball Championship (APBC).

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) officially announced on the 2nd that “the KBO Power Enhancement Committee has confirmed the non-participation of Doosan’s Choi Min-seok and NC’s Shin Young-woo in the 2026 APBC tournament, as both players have suffered right elbow injuries.”

It is particularly regrettable given that both players were selected for the national team after their growth this year was recognized. Choi Min-seok is a right-handed pitcher who graduated from Seoul High School and was drafted by Doosan in the 16th overall pick of the second round of the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. He gained starting experience in the first division from his rookie year and grew into a key starter for the team in his second season this year. This season, he recorded 14 wins and 5 losses in 27 games, with an ERA of 3.20, striking out 129 batters over 146⅓ innings. He ranked third in the league in both wins and ERA. He contributed significantly to Doosan’s return to the postseason as the fifth-place team this year, after finishing ninth last year.

In September, he was selected for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games national team and helped secure a gold medal. Despite his young age of 20 at the time, he took responsibility for the national team’s pitching staff and gained international tournament experience. However, after going through the Asian Games and the late-season standings race, followed by the postseason, he ultimately suffered a right elbow injury, ruling him out of the APBC.

Shin Young-woo is also a promising player who had been highly anticipated. After graduating from Gyeongnam High School, Shin was drafted by NC in the fourth overall pick of the first round of the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft. He was a power pitcher so highly rated that he received a signing bonus of 250 million won alone at the time. He debuted in the first division in 2024 but struggled with control issues. Last year, he managed only one win and three losses in eight games, with an ERA of 7.53, allowing 19 walks and hit batters (16 walks, 3 hit by pitch) while striking out 19 over 14⅓ innings.

This year, he showed potential after moving to a bullpen role. He recorded one win, two losses, one save, and seven holds in 42 first-division games, with an ERA of 2.86. He displayed powerful command by striking out 54 batters over 34⅔ innings. While his control still needed improvement, allowing 53 walks and hit batters (47 walks, 6 hit by pitch), he was selected for the APBC national team after his ability to overpower opposing batters and his growth potential were recognized. However, Shin Young-woo also had to postpone his first APBC appearance due to a right elbow injury.

Meanwhile, five players from the KIA Tigers will join the national team training camp starting with a practice game against Sangmu on the 6th. After advancing to the postseason as the third-place team in the regular season, KIA won three consecutive games against the LG Twins in the wild card series. They then fought a hard-fought five-game series against the Samsung Lions in the playoff, but were eliminated with a record of two wins and three losses.

Since they played through the postseason until the 1st, additional rest was granted to KIA players. Five players—Kim Do-young (23), Park Jae-hyun (20), Sung Young-tak (22), Kim Tae-hyung (25), and Gwak Do-gyu (22)—are scheduled to join the national team.

The national team, led by Manager Choi Won-ho (53), began domestic training at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark on the 2nd. After playing practice games against Sangmu on the 6th and the Ulsan Whales on the 7th, they will depart for Japan on the 9th.

This year’s APBC will be held at Tokyo Dome in Japan from the 12th to the 15th. Korea will face Australia on the 12th, Japan on the 13th, and Taiwan on the 14th, respectively. The top two teams from the preliminary round will compete for the championship in the final on the 15th.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original