SEOUL– Park Jun-young, a highly touted high school pitching prospect, was selected first overall at the annual draft in South Korean professional baseball on Monday.
The Hanwha Eagles, holding the first pick after finishing the 2021 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season in last place, chose the hard-throwing right-hander out of Sekwang High School in Cheongju, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul.
Park, 18, has gone 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 16 appearances so far this season. He has struck out 75 and walked 19 in 56 1/3 innings, and has not given up any home run.
The Eagles, a perennial KBO doormat, have chosen two of the best pitchers in two separate drafts this summer.
The KBO held its annual territorial draft last month, whereby clubs could each select one player from their own region. However, the bottom three teams from the previous season could pick a player from outside their home region. And the Eagles, based in the central city of Daejeon, picked right-hander Moon Dong-ju out of Gwangju Jinheung High School in Gwangju, located in the southern part of the country.
The Eagles have made the postseason just once since 2008. They finished at 46-95-3 (wins-losses-ties) last year and are stuck in last place again this year at 38-64-7.
After the draft, Eagles general manager Jeong Min-chul gushed, “We’ve picked Park Jun-young, who is the best (high school) right-handed pitcher in the country, without a doubt.”
“As Park Jun-young and Moon Dong-ju get into friendly competition, they’ll both develop into two of the best right-handers in the league,” added Jeong, a former All-Star pitcher himself.
The SSG Landers selected pitcher Shin Hyun-min from Gwangju Dongsung High School with the second overall pick. Mulgeum High School infielder Kim Young-woong went to the Samsung Lions as the third selection.
Seven of the 10 players chosen in the first round were pitchers.
With their 41st pick, the Eagles chose former Chicago Cubs minor league outfielder Kwon Kwang-min.
Kwon, 23, signed with the Cubs in August 2015 but never made it past Single-A in the minors. He dabbled in the Australian Baseball League in 2018 but was released by the Cubs in March 2019.
Because Kwon signed his first professional contract overseas before playing in the KBO, he was ineligible for the KBO draft for two years after returning home. Kwon used that time to complete his mandatory military service. He enlisted in May 2019 and was discharged in December 2020. He played some independent ball afterward before entering the draft Monday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency