Kiwoom Heroes Jang Jae-young (21) was sluggish even in the second game of the season. Kiwoom has clear concerns.
Jang Jae-young started in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League match against the Samsung Lions held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 18th and was sluggish with 4 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts and 6 runs in 2⅓ innings.
From the first inning, Jang Jae-young walked 3 times and even committed a wild fight, eventually conceding 2 points. In the 2nd inning, Jang Jae-young escaped the 1st, 1st and 3rd base crises, but in the end, he could not go beyond the 3rd inning. He gave up a hit to Kang Min-ho, a walk to Lee Jae-hyun, and a double to Lee Seong-gyu, adding runs. Jang Jae-young only digested 2⅓ innings, but the number of pitches was 84. In the end, the Kiwoom bench chose to replace it.
Overall, the problem with control was serious. It was not easy to get both the fastball and slider into the strike zone. With 43 strikes and 41 balls, the ratio was actually 1:1. On this day, Jang Jae-young recorded a fastball speed of 153km/h and an average speed of 150km/h, but the fastball with a broken ball was not a big threat to the opponent batter.
Prior to the season, Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki took note of Jang Jae-young’s improvement and assigned him the 5th starting job. Jang Jae-young raised expectations by scoring 3 runs in 9 innings in the demonstration game. However, Jang Jae-young did not live up to his belief, recording 4 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts and 3 runs in 4 innings against the LG Twins on the 6th, his first appearance in the regular season.
Kiwoom is building a strong starting rotation this season. The best pitcher in the league, Woo-Jin Ahn, is putting out an overwhelming pitch this year as well, and Eric Yokishi showed off quality start plus pitching in the last appearance, and the pace is picking up. Ariel Hurado had an average ERA of 3.63 in 17⅓ innings in 3 games, and Won-Tae Choi had an ERA of 1.89 in 3 games and 19 innings. The rotation is perfectly running from the one-two punch to the fourth starter.
However, the final puzzle of the starters makes my head thump. Kiwoom suffered a 4-6 defeat against Samsung on the 18th,스포츠토토 unable to overcome Jang Jae-young’s hunting. Jang Jae-young’s performance this season was 2 games, 6⅓ innings, 8 hits, 10 walks, 9 runs, an average ERA of 12.79.
It is a record that cannot be guaranteed to remain in the starting lineup. Looking at the order, Jang Jae-young should be responsible for the selection mound for Incheon SSG on the 23rd, but it seems that he will have to watch the situation. It is urgent to solve Jang Jae-young’s chronic restraint problem.