Even though he pitched for three days in a row, he hit a fastball with a speed of up to 152 km. Incheon High School right-hander Kim Taek-yeon (18) emerged as the best pitcher on the youth baseball team and ranked first in strikeouts at the U-18 Baseball World Cup.먹튀검증
Taekyeon Kim made a relief appearance in the 5th inning against the United States in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup Super Round held at Tienmu Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan on the 8th (Korean time) and recorded 1⅓ innings of no hits, no walks, 2 strikeouts, and 1 run. .
In the 6th inning, leadoff hitter James Coy went to first base with a strike and no out, then homered with a sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly, allowing one run, but overwhelmed the American batters with his overwhelming pitch. The American hitters were also slow to bat due to Kim Taek-yeon’s powerful fastball. In particular, the second ball thrown to Johnson Carter after two outs in the sixth inning was measured at 152km. Then, with the ball count of 1-2, he struck out with a 151km fastball on the 4th pitch.
What is even more surprising is that Kim Taek-yeon pitched for three consecutive days on this day. On the 6th, the last game of the group stage, against Puerto Rico, was suspended in the third inning due to rain, so Kim Taek-yeon continued to fight until the 7th. In a two-day game with 21 pitches in 1⅔ innings on the 6th and 19 pitches in 1⅓ innings on the 7th, he earned a relief win with a perfect pitch in 3 innings, 40 pitches, 7 strikeouts, and no runs.
He then took the mound for three consecutive days until the game against the United States on the 8th. Although he had three consecutive pitches due to the rain, Kim Taek-yeon showed no sign of fatigue and threw a lot of fastballs. As of today, he has made relief appearances in all 4 games of this tournament, recording 1 win, 1 save, and an ERA of 1.75. The content is good, with 3 hits, 2 walks, 18 strikeouts, and 2 runs allowed in 8 innings. Ranked first overall in strikeouts with a strong pitch.
Taek-yeon Kim, a right-hander with a stocky physique of 184 cm and 88 kg, has shown rapid growth this year and has emerged as a top candidate for the 2024 KBO rookie draft. He played in 13 high school games (64⅓ innings) this year with 7 wins, 1 loss, an ERA of 1.13, and 97 strikeouts. He has 10 walks and walks, which is just 1.4 per 9 innings. His rapid growth continued with his youth national team, raising his stock.
Kim Taek-yeon is likely to be selected by Doosan, which has the second overall pick. Although he is very active in this tournament, it does not change Hanwha’s choice as the first choice. Super high school pitcher Jang Hyun-seok (Yongma High School) signed with the LA Dodgers and decided to go to the United States, but Hanwha did not feel too disappointed because they had ‘left-handed pitcher’ Hwang Jun-seo (Jangchung High School) who had been selected for the youth national team since his second year.
Hwang Jun-seo, who is 187cm tall and 80kg with a slim build, is the type of pitcher with good pitching balance and control. He gained 5kg this year and reached his highest speed of 150km. He is a promising prospect with infinite potential, but is a much-needed resource due to the Hanwha team’s exceptional lack of left-handed pitchers. During the post-season closing camp, the coaching staff also planned to see Hwang Jun-seo in person and check his competitiveness as a starting candidate for next year.
Hwang Jun-seo is showing good performance in this baseball World Cup as well. He has 3 games, 1 win, 2 losses, and an ERA of 5.11. Although his superficial record is disappointing, his pitching content is good. In his first game, against Taiwan on the 2nd, he pitched 2⅓ innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and gave up 4 runs (3 earned), but did not lose the game. However, on the 5th, he pitched in relief in the 2nd inning against Mexico, and won with a good pitch in 5⅓ innings, allowing 1 hit, no outs, 6 strikeouts, and no runs.
Hwang Jun-seo of the U-18 national baseball team. /WBSC homepage
In the game against the United States on the 8th, after resting for 2 days, Hwang Jun-seo pitched 4⅔ innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk, striking out 6, and allowing 4 runs, but he pitched well until the 4th inning without allowing any runs. Although his rest was short, he raised his top speed to 146 km/h. Not only was his main weapon, the splitter, thrown against right-handed batters, but his curveball with a large drop against left-handed batters was also powerful. He proved his worth as a leading candidate for first choice by leading to only 12 missed swings by American batters.
Meanwhile, the Korean national team led by coach Lee Young-bok lost 1-5 to the United States that day. Second consecutive Super Round loss following the previous day’s match against Japan (1-7). Korea, which ranked 5th in the super round with 1 win and 3 losses including the group record, was unable to advance to the finals regardless of the match against the Netherlands on the 9th.