Kiwoom Heroes is looking at a ‘trade jackpot’.
Kiwoom traded with the Samsung Lions on the 27th of last month. After sending off Kim Tae-hoon from the bullpen, Lee Won-seok and infielder Lee Won-seok received a rookie nomination in the 3rd round of the 2024 rookie draft.
This season, Kiwoom entered the season with concerns about the first and third bases. resources were received. At first base, Jeon Byeong-woo and Kim Woong-bin, ‘infield all-rounder’ Kim Tae-jin, and Lim Ji-yeol, who moved from the outfield to the infield, were prepared.
Above all, I was worried about the first base. After leaving 크크크벳 Park Byung-ho ahead of last season, there has been no player who has definitely risen to the starting lineup.
Lee Won-seok was the right person to perfectly scratch the itchy part of Kiwoom. Having served as Samsung’s main third baseman, he can also defend first base.
Kiwoom immediately appointed Lee Won-seok as first baseman. Reporting a hit against KT on the 27th of last month, his first game, he showed off his firepower with 4 hits in 5 at-bats against the Lotte Giants in Busan the next day.
On the 2nd, a face-to-face confrontation with Samsung, the parent company. Before stepping into the plate, he greeted the fans with a 90-degree bow, but there was no mercy at the bat. As he pitched a two-hit game, he showed off his sharp hitting feel. His batting average in his last 10 games was .500 (17 hits in 35 at-bats). His batting average for the season rose to 40% (30 hits in 75 at-bats), leading the league in batting average.
His defense has also started to stabilize in general. The entire infield started to stabilize as he showed a sense of stability not only in stable defense but also in the catch.
Before Lee Won-seok came, Kiwoom’s first baseman’s WAR (contribution to victory against substitute players) was close to a ‘negative number’. As he was a position that he only wanted to be ‘average’, Lee Won-seok’s performance is bound to be welcome.
In Kiwoom, Addison Russell recorded the highest WAR in the team with 1.41, and Lee Won-seok is running second with 1.18. In third place is Kim Hye-seong with 0.98.
Kiwoom recruited Lee Ji-young in a triangle trade with SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) and Samsung in 2019. Lee Ji-young is currently active as Kiwoom’s main catcher, protecting the home and establishing himself as a ‘role model’ for junior catchers.
What I want from Lee Won-seok is similar. It was the judgment that he had the experience to lead junior players while establishing himself with full strength in both ball and defense.
It is still in the early stages, but Lee Won-seok has started to play a 100% role. Kiwoom, who even held the nomination right for the 3rd round of the 2024 rookie draft, will be able to more clearly dream of a “big hit business” that can catch both the present and the future.