As he was given steady opportunities, his potential started to explode. After the transfer, the batting average of 0.367 (11 hits in 30 at-bats) in 8 games was 2 home runs and 6 RBIs.
Lee Joo-hyeong, the league’s best prospect 먹튀검증 that all clubs were aiming for, is proving his worth by wielding a strong blow every day after the trade.
On the 29th of last month, Lee Joo-hyung was transferred to Kiwoom along with Kim Dong-gyu and the 1st round nomination for the 2024 rookie draft, as LG recruited Choi Won-tae from Kiwoom to strengthen the starting pitcher on the 29th of last month.
Lee Joo-hyung, who received an official offer from the LA Dodgers as the best 5-tool player in high school since his days at Gyeongnam High School, joined LG in the second round of the 2020 rookie draft. From the time he joined, he was evaluated as the future of LG, and the club decided to give him a chance after solving the military problem quickly. And after being discharged last February, he was given a chance in the first team. However, LG, which boasts a solid outfield, did not provide many opportunities to Lee Joo-hyung. Intermittent pinch-hit appearances were all.
However, LG cared for Lee Joo-hyung very much. In the past, LG had negotiated a trade with Lotte An Chi-hong to reinforce the second base. At that time, Lotte wanted Lee Joo-hyung, and LG insisted that it could never give Lee Joo-hyung, and the negotiations went through. To that extent, Lee Joo-hyung was a non-tradeable player that LG cherished. Lee Ho-joon, LG batting coach who coached Lee Joo-hyung, said, “Even if I’m not there, don’t change your form,” and highly praised his clean hitting mechanism, assuring Lee Joo-hyung’s success.
Kiwoom was able to hand over Choi Won-tae, the league’s leading right-hander in Korea, to LG because it highly valued Lee Joo-hyung. He has not yet shown anything in the first team stage, but he has already been verified in the Futures League, and Kiwoom was confident that Lee Joo-hyung could become Lee Jung-hoo’s successor.
Lee Joo-hyung, who had a hard time getting a chance to bat at LG, started every game after wearing a Kiwoom uniform and steadily entered the plate, 3 to 4 at-bats per game. In Kiwoom, even if he couldn’t hit his hit, he was able to look back on the regrettable part in the next at-bat and aim for the next opportunity. When he puts down the burden on his heart and is given the opportunity to hit to his heart’s content, he gradually opens his eyes to hitting.
In the match against Samsung on the 30th of last month, he hit 1 RBI and 3 bases against starter Baek Jung-hyun. It was his first triple in his personal career and his first RBI in Kiwoom.
And on the 3rd, in a match against LG, his home team, he hit his first home run in his debut. He pulled LG starter Casey Kelly’s 134km changeup with all his might and hit a two-run home run with a distance of 125m over the right wall. He was a batting ball that could intuit a home run the moment it hit with a batting speed of 166.5 km.
Although he started his professional life at LG, he is achieving the first record in his career at Kiwoom. Lee Jung-hoo is highly likely to advance to the major leagues after this season. Kiwoom needed a successor for Lee Jung-hoo, and he is trying to fill the position with Lee Joo-hyung. Of course, it is realistically difficult for Lee Joo-hyung to completely fill Lee Jung-hoo’s vacancy. However, judging from Lee Joo-hyung’s batting talent, there is a good chance that he will become a player representing the league after 2-3 years.
What Lee Joo-hyeong, who has contact hitting, long hitting power, and quick feet, needed was an opportunity. Kiwoom was a team that could give him a chance, and Lee Joo-hyung is not missing out on that opportunity.