The 2025 professional baseball rookie draft will be held on September 9th.
I had the opportunity to see the first-round designated players, which is a pressing concern. This is because the under-18 youth national team was formed.
The Korea Baseball Softball Association officially announced on the 17th that it has finally confirmed the youth national team to participate in the 13th Asian Youth Baseball Championship (under 18) in Taipei, Taiwan, for a week from September 2-8. The association held a meeting of the performance improvement committee on the 15th and appointed coach Kang Seung-young (senior coach), coach Song Min-soo (pitcher coach) of Jangchung High School, and coach Jung Ho-jin (field coach) of Masan Yongmago as coaches in each field. In addition, a total of 18 representative players (eight pitchers, two catchers, five infielders and three outfielders) in each position were confirmed as final entries.
The names of high school stage special two-timer players, who are the leading candidates for the first round, including Jeon High School’s Jung Woo-joo and Deok High School’s Jung Hyun-woo, who are competing for the first place overall, were included.
Starting with Jung Woo-joo’s Chung Hyun-woo, Deoksu High School right-hander Kim Tae-hyung, Chungam High School’s Park Gun-woo, Seoul High School’s Jangshin right-hander Kim Dong-hyun, Chunghoon High School’s Kim Seo-joon, Jeon High School’s Lee Ho-min and Daegu High School’s left-hander Bae Chan-seung were listed.
catcher Lee Yul-ye of Gangneung High School will be in charge of the home turf with Park Jae-yeop of Busan High School.
Shinsegae E-Mart Bae and the Golden Lion winner Deoksu Keystone duo Park Jun-soon and Bae Seung-soo were selected as infielders. Park Jun-soon is considered the biggest fish of the draft fielder.
Ryu Shin-go infielder Shim Jae-hoon and Hwimungo infielder Yeom Seung-won, who both underwent major league status check, are also on the national team’s list. Park Jae-hyun of Incheon High School, who boasts mobility and uses that cross the infield and outfield, and Daegu Sangwon High School’s big gun, Su-ho, who has seven home runs this season, are expected to be the center of the lineup. Busan High School outfielder Lee Won-joon, who has long-shot power, and Oh Jae-won of Yoo Shin-go, who is highly regarded for his fast feet and wide field of defense, are the only second-year players to be selected.
A total of eight countries will participate in the 13th Asian Youth Baseball Championship, which will be divided into groups A and B to play the preliminary round. The top two teams in each round will advance to the Super Round, and the top two teams in the overall performance, which combine the preliminary round opponent’s record (one game) and Super Round performance (two games), will advance to the final. 여우알바
Korea was in Group A along with its home teams Taiwan, Pakistan, and Thailand. Group B includes the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, with Japan at the forefront.
The association plans to convene a team in late August to conduct domestic reinforcement training and maximize team power before departing for Taiwan with the aim of winning two consecutive tournaments after the 2018 Miyazaki Games in Japan.
The youth national team has a considerable number of candidates for the first round. The order and the rounds can be changed depending on whether they are active in international competitions. “The rookie draft for this season is more volatile than last year. Their performance at international competitions right before the draft will also affect their choice,” said a scout from a professional team.
The 2025 professional baseball rookie draft competition, which ends a day before the rookie draft, is expected to focus on Taiwan.
