"150 km/h pitches weren't that difficult," says Uhm Jun-sang, who headed straight to MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks, upon returning home: What he learned from competing with the world's top prospects... [The Changing American Dream ②]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"I didn't feel it was extremely difficult."

This is Uhm Jun-sang's (18, Deoksu High School) impression after his first competition against overseas players following his signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). On a stage where prospects from around the world gathered, he experienced fastballs exceeding 150 km/h but did not view them as an insurmountable wall.

Uhm returned home on the 10th after completing the Instructional League, which had been held in the Dominican Republic for over a month. Meeting with StarNews after his return, he shared his recent status: "This time, I didn't go to the United States; instead, I trained and learned at the Dominican Instructional League first. I will enter the U.S. program in January next year."

As direct pathways from Korean high school baseball to the U.S. reach a new phase, Uhm is one of the players symbolizing this change. This year alone, seven Korean high school players chose to head to the United States. While opportunities were previously mainly given to top-tier prospects ranked as number one overall picks, MLB teams have recently been looking for potential in a broader pool of players.

Uhm is among those who received high evaluations from both Korea and the U.S. He gained attention by serving as Deoksu High School's starting shortstop and pitcher since his freshman year. Leveraging fastballs up to 153 km/h and batting talent, he was cited as a candidate for the number one overall pick in the 2027 KBO Rookie Draft.

Domestic scouts highly rated Uhm's technical proficiency. A scout from a KBO team in January last year said, "He knows how to adjust his timing depending on the opposing pitcher. He possesses batting skills at a level higher than players of the same age."

In the April Shinsegae E-Mart Cup, he led Deoksu High School to victory and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). At the time, another scout praised him, saying, "His shortstop defense is impeccable. His throwing, sense, and defensive completeness are the highest among current position players."

The U.S. perspective was not significantly different. MLB.com, the official MLB website, evaluated that Uhm has a strong arm, stable shortstop defense, and excellent game sense. In terms of batting, it analyzed that his contact hitting currently surpasses his power, but there is potential for his power to develop in the future.

Amid these evaluations, Arizona signed Uhm in June last year with a signing bonus of 1.5 million dollars (approximately 21 billion won). This was the third-largest amount in history for a Korean amateur player, following Kim Byung-hyun's 2.25 million dollars and Ryu Je-guk's 1.6 million dollars.

He did not choose to go to the U.S. from the start. As late as January this year, Uhm had aimed for the number one overall pick in the KBO draft. He deliberated over Arizona's offer, which continued from April. In early June, he conveyed his intention not to go to the U.S., but changed his decision within a day.

In July last year, Uhm told StarNews, "It wasn't just about the money. Arizona showed me their sincere desire to sign me." He judged that if he ever intended to challenge the Major Leagues, it would be better to compete with prospects from around the world as early as possible.

And about four months later, he directly experienced that competition. Describing the characteristics of the pitchers he met in the Dominican Instructional League, Uhm explained, "Foreign players often throw pitches focused on raw power rather than manipulating the ball's movement. Therefore, their velocity is faster than their pitch movement."

This meant there were differences in velocity and pitching style compared to the pitchers he had faced in Korea. However, Uhm focused most on his own adaptation rather than the level difference with prospects of the same age at this moment.

Uhm said, "People are bound to adapt eventually. I think if I adapt to those pitches as quickly as possible, I might be able to hit 150 km/h pitches a bit more comfortably. If that happens, I feel I will be able to hit well in the Rookie League next year." He added, "Still, I should move up to Low-A Single-A quickly so I can rise to higher levels faster, so I think it is good to get to Single-A early."

Of course, one cannot definitively conclude that Korean prospects are superior to overseas players based solely on a little over a month of Instructional League experience. Once entering the actual Minor League regular season, they must face pitchers of even more diverse levels. However, on this first overseas stage, Uhm confirmed his potential to adapt to fast pitches and set specific goals for moving up to the next level.

Since returning to Korea, he has been focusing on body building through weight training and diet management. He plans to increase the proportion of technical training before departing for the U.S. spring camp. He is also preparing for local adaptation based on the English he learned in elementary school.

He is exchanging information with Kim Seong-jun (19, Texas Rangers), who moved to the U.S. first. Uhm said, "I have become very close to (Kim) Seong-jun hyung. Even though we just met, we were able to talk comfortably." He added, "If I move up to Single-A quickly and keep climbing, I think we might meet there."

Overseas expansion does not end as merely an individual player's choice. If a high school graduate is not drafted by a domestic professional team through the KBO Rookie Draft and instead signs directly with an overseas professional team, that school may be excluded from the target list for the development support fund paid by the KBO related to rookie drafting. The reason voices are emerging that the support structure of the amateur baseball field must also be considered, along with individual player choices, is because cases of overseas expansion have recently increased.

Uhm was well aware of this point. While preparing for his move to the U.S., he donated 60 million won to his alma mater, Deoksu High School. He stated, "Since the support fund will be cut off due to my move to the U.S., I naturally thought I should help as much as I can. If things go well later, I also want to donate a lot."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original