To Australia right after winning the Korea Series! Left-hander Bae Chan-seung, who throws at a top speed of 158 km/h, and development player Kim Baek-san, who wrote a legend, sent to ABL as Samsung's three promising young players

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Just four days after enjoying the joy of winning the Korea Series, they will pick up a baseball again. Left-hander Bae Chan-seung (20), who throws at a top speed of 158 km/h, and Kim Baek-san (23), a former development player who earned his first career start win in his debut year, are heading to the Australian Baseball League (ABL). Outfielder Kim Hyeon-jun (24), who has returned from military service at Sangmu, will also join them subsequently to gain live-game experience.

The Samsung Lions officially announced on the 12th, "To expand the players' experience, we are sending three players—Bae Chan-seung, Kim Baek-san, and Kim Hyeon-jun—to the ABL."

The three players will undergo training and play league games with the Brisbane Bandits, based in Brisbane, Australia. Bae Chan-seung and Kim Baek-san will depart on the 13th and return on December 22, while Kim Hyeon-jun is scheduled to depart on December 21 and return on January 24 of next year.

The most eye-catching player is Bae Chan-seung. A graduate of Daegu High School, Bae was a top-tier left-handed prospect who joined Samsung as the third overall pick in the first round of the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. His top speed was 132 km/h in his freshman year of high school, but he raised it to 148 km/h in his sophomore year and 152 km/h in his junior year, drawing nationwide attention. In 2023, he received the Star Award in the baseball category at the Futures Star Awards hosted by StarNews. Last year, in his first professional season, he recorded a 2-3 record with 19 holds and an ERA of 3.91 in 65 games. His top speed also reached 158 km/h.

This year, he grew another level, recording a 4-2 record with 1 save and 10 holds and an ERA of 2.25 in 56 games. He struck out 41 batters over 44 innings. In particular, he was evaluated as having improved stability after returning from the Asian Games. Samsung Manager Park Jin-man (50) praised him at the time, saying, "Bae Chan-seung has grown a lot. Since coming back from the Asian Games, he shows an extremely stable form."

In Game 2 of the Korea Series against the KT Wiz on the 4th, Bae took the mound in the bottom of the 12th inning of extra innings and pitched one scoreless inning to protect the team's 3-2 victory, recording his first career postseason save. Bae contributed to the championship by recording 2⅓ scoreless innings and 1 save across three Korea Series games. However, as he issued 5 walks in the process, control remains an area that needs improvement.

The growth journey of Kim Baek-san, who is also heading to Australia, is special. A graduate of Gangneung High School and Busan University of Science and Technology, Kim was not selected in the rookie draft but continued his professional dream by joining Samsung as a development player. In June this year, he recorded 14 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in three Futures League games and was selected as the recipient of the KBO Futures League Monthly Rookie Award in the pitcher category.

Subsequently, on July 2, he got his first division debut opportunity against the NC Dinos. Starting the game, Kim pitched well over 5⅔ innings with 2 hits allowed, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts, recording a scoreless performance to become the winning pitcher. It was the second-ever first-division debut start win by a development player in KBO League history. He also shared the joy of his first win with his teammates. At the time, Kim gifted a total of 65 pizzas—27 to the first division team and 38 to the Futures team—drawing attention.

However, he also experienced ups and downs after his first win. His final first-division record this year is 1-1 with an ERA of 4.20 in six games. In Australia, his task is to refine his game management skills through consistent starting pitching experience.

In the second half, Kim Hyeon-jun takes over the baton. Kim joined Samsung as the 83rd overall pick in the ninth round of the second phase of the 2021 Rookie Draft. He is a left-handed outfielder who drew attention by recording a .275 batting average and 100 hits in 118 games in 2022. Last year, while serving in military service at Sangmu, he ranked second in batting in the Taiwan Asia Winter League, but struggled with a batting average in the .100s in the Sangmu Futures League this year.

After being discharged from military service in June this year and returning to the first division, he showed potential for a rebound. In a game against the SSG Landers on July 5 last month, he contributed to the team's victory with three hits, four RBIs, and two walks in four at-bats. However, for the entire season, he finished with a .200 batting average, 10 hits, and 10 RBIs in 36 games. Although he was included in the Korea Series roster, his playing time was limited to one hitless at-bat.

Samsung has competitive outfield resources such as Kim Seong-yun and Park Seung-gyu in place. For Kim Hyeon-jun, this dispatch to Australia is an opportunity to boost his live-game feel and prepare for next year's outfield competition.

The collaboration between Samsung and the Brisbane Bandits enters its third year this season. The ABL is a league that Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams also utilize for developing promising players during the off-season. This season, four teams including Brisbane will play four games per week over 10 weeks. Samsung is also sending four staff members—a pitching coach, a position player coach, a training coach, and a team employee—to help with the players' local adaptation and training.

Samsung defeated KT on the 8th to reach the top of the Korea Series for the first time in 12 years. However, not satisfied with that, they are sending their three promising young players to Australia to prepare for the 2027 season.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original