"The 1.6 billion won rookie, Lee Do-ryu" is the top concern for Taiwan's AWB; attention turns to Ha Hyun-seung, "the high schooler who turned down a 4.7 billion won offer from the Yankees"

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

With the roster for the 2026 Winter Baseball (AWB) tournament revealed, attention is pouring onto Ha Hyun-seung (18, Kiwoom Heroes), a Kiwoom Heroes rookie who has yet to make his professional debut.

The Taiwanese media outlet Now News reported on the 5th, "The rosters for teams participating in the 2026 AWB have been announced," adding, "Korea will field Ha Hyun-seung."

The AWB is a tournament featuring a total of six teams from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, among others, and it will be held in Kaohsiung starting on the 14th.

The outlet introduced, "Japan has sent multiple first-round draft prospects, while Ha Hyun-seung, the 'overall No. 1 pick in the Super Draft,' joins the Korean combined team."

Ha Hyun-seung was undoubtedly the focus of Taiwan's attention. This year on the high school stage, Ha excelled both as a pitcher and hitter. On the mound, he appeared in 14 games, posting an overwhelming record of four wins, no losses, and an ERA of 0.39. Over a total of 45⅔ innings pitched, he allowed only 11 walks while striking out a whopping 77 batters. At the plate, he also swung with power in 24 games, marking a batting average of .383 (31 hits in 81 at-bats), three home runs, 21 RBIs, 14 walks, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.088.

Ha Hyun-seung, who also participated in the U-18 Asia Championship last September, appeared twice against Japan, leading Korea to victory with scoreless pitching that included a complete game shutout win in the final, and was awarded the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Thanks to such performances, he received the honor of the Star Award at the "2026 Futures Star Awards," hosted and organized by StarNews, held on the 26th of last month.

The selection committee for the award highly praised him as an "immediate-impact player who excels in both pitching and batting, possessing excellent physical attributes and good athletic ability." They noted, "His maximum strength is his powerful command led by a fastball exceeding 150 km/h. He has a good feel for pitching, with stable control of breaking balls, and based on his high command and the polish of his breaking pitches, he possesses the ability to sufficiently handle innings as a starting pitcher."

His potential as a hitter is also sufficient. The selection committee praised him, stating, "Based on excellent punching power and fast bat speed, he boasts strong contact production ability." They added, "His ability to handle breaking balls is also outstanding, with few whiffs. He has already proven his skills beyond the high school level, including delivering a perfect performance at the U-18 Asia Youth Baseball Championship."

As expected by all, Ha Hyun-seung was selected as the overall No. 1 pick by Kiwoom in the 2027 KBO Rookie Draft. Ha, who chose to stay in Korea after turning down a major contract worth $3.5 million (approximately 4.7 billion won) from the New York Yankees, drew attention as Kiwoom offered him an unprecedented signing bonus of 1.6 billion won.

It was only natural that Taiwan's gaze focused on him. The outlet stated, "This year's KBO combined team is centered around players from the Kiwoom Heroes, with Lotte Giants and alternative service (such as military band) players joining, and is led by Kiwoom Manager Sol Jong-jin." They continued, "Another notable player is Ha Hyun-seung, who is graduating from high school. He turned down a $3 million contract offer from the Yankees to choose to stay in the KBO League, and previously won the tournament MVP with an outstanding record of scoreless pitching over 15⅔ innings in three games at the U-18 Asia Youth Baseball Championship."

In addition, they highlighted Jung Hyun-woo, a left-handed pitcher who joined Kiwoom as the overall No. 1 pick in the 2025 season, and Park Chan-hyeok (military band), an outfielder selected in the first round of the second phase in the 2022 season. The outlet explained, "Jung Hyun-woo, a 20-year-old left-handed pitcher, was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft and already has experience starting 18 games last year. Although he missed three months this year due to an elbow injury, he plans to supplement his innings through the winter league and steadily accumulate experience."

Regarding Park Chan-hyeok, they noted, "He hit 12 home runs this year, recording the most home runs among domestic batters on the Heroes team." They also reported, "Outfielder Choo Jae-hyun achieved a stable offensive output with 80 hits and a .283 batting average. Another figure of interest, Jang Jae-young, was originally a pitcher but has shown power potential after converting to a hitter in 2024; he aims to adapt to professional-level breaking balls and improve his hitting consistency through the winter league."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original