Park Young-hyun (21), a right-hander of KT, received much attention when he threw a fastball of 152 km/h when he was a high school senior. In 2021, when he was a high school senior, he won the “High School Choi Dong-won Award,” which is given to the best high school pitcher. Park Young-hyun, who was considered one of the biggest high school pitchers along with Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha) made his professional debut by receiving the first nomination from KT, his affiliate.
In the 2022 season, when he was a rookie, he played 51.2 innings in 52 games, recording one loss and two holds with an ERA of 3.66 strikeouts, showing his potential. His fastball pitching has been outstanding since he was a rookie, with more than one strikeout per inning.
In the 2023 season, his second year, Park Young-hyun immediately became a top bullpen pitcher. Having had high expectations from coach Lee Kang-chul even before the season, Park played the role of “primary setup man” who would take the mound right in front of closing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon, and displayed overwhelming performance by posting an earned run average of around one point through July. At one point, his earned run average soared to the mid-3-point range, but he regained stability in the end. His season performance was 79, more than one strikeout per inning in 68 games and 75.1 innings, including 3 wins, 3 losses, 4 saves, 32 holds, and 79 strikeouts. He also became the youngest player to hold 30 holds and became the youngest player to hold the honor, as a second-year high school pitcher. He was also included in the entry list for the Hangzhou Asian Games, where he helped win the gold medal by banking on his strong fastballs, and received military service benefits early on.
As Kim Jae-yoon, who finished the game with KT, moved to Samsung after qualifying as an FA last winter, Park naturally took over the finishing position. Park Young-hyun, who hits batters with a fastball of over 150 kilometers per hour, was the perfect finishing pitcher.
Were the eighth and ninth innings different under pressure? Park Young-hyun, who is entering his first full-time season, often showed signs of shaking in the early days of this season. Although he made three saves in March and April, his ERA reached 6.91 and seemed to be stabilizing with 0.68 in May, but soared to 8.71 in June again, completing 35 appearances with six wins, two losses and 11 saves with an ERA of 4.83. He seemed to be under fire as many as nine homers.
Park Young-hyun, however, recovered his form in the second half of the season. He did not hesitate to engage in multi-inning games in important situations, and was a focal point for bullpen pitchers. His performance in the second half of the season decreased significantly to four wins, no loss, 14 saves, and an earned run average of 2.02. His final performance for the season was 10 wins, two losses, 25 saves, and an earned run average of 3.52. Due to such hard hits in the early days of the season, he played more than one inning 25 times, tying for first with Kim Sang-soo (Lotte). As he played in many tie-breaking situations, he also garnered double-digit wins for his first time in his debut. The title of “winning rate” given to players with 10 or more wins was also given to Park Young-hyun, who has a winning rate of 0.833 (W8, 2014). In the post-season, he also had one save and zero earned run in two wild card games, and one win and zero in 4.1 innings in two semi-playoff games. Notably, he pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in Game 4 of the semi-playoff, which was on the verge of being eliminated with one win and two losses, leading his team to Game 5.
Park’s fastball and momentum in the second half and postseason were also recognized on the world stage. Park Young-hyun, who was included in the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier 12 2024 entry, displayed the brightest pitching among the pitching staff.
The Premier 12 national team includes the finishing touches of five KBO League teams. Among them, Kia Tigers’ Jung Hae-young, LG Twins’ Yoo Young-chan, Doosan Bears’ Kim Taek-yeon, SSG’s Cho Byung-hyun, and Park Young-hyun were given the finishing touches. As such, Ryu Joong-il and pitching coach Choi Il-eon showed strong trust in Park Young-hyun.
Park has lived up to 100 percent of the coaching staff’s trust. Starting with the ninth inning when he took the mound with a scoreless 8-4 lead, Park allowed two strikeouts and one strikeout during one inning, and pitched 1.2 innings with two hits and one strikeout and no run at the game against the Dominican Republic. While Park was on the mound, Korea turned the game around 4-6 to 9-6, becoming the winning pitcher. At the last game against Australia, where Park was eliminated from the group league, he pitched in the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, and secured three strikeouts to end the tournament. He pitched 3.2 innings of two hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. Through this event, Park Young-hyun is said to have made him his own finishing position for the national team, which is the successor of Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung).
His fastball, which is his flagship weapon, reminded me of Oh Seung-hwan’s heyday. His fastball, also worked well on the world stage. His speed of over 150 kilometers per hour was impressive, but his fastball’s RPM exceeded 2,500. As the ball itself was fast and the speed of rotation was high, powerful batters in Latin America were also helpless. It is curious how Park Young-hyun’s fastball will work against major leaguers at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which is just one year and four months away.
Park Young-hyun, who returned to Korea via Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, said, “I was in better condition than during the regular season of the 카지노사이트 KBO League. I think I got a good personal result by throwing my fastball with confidence.”
In response to the fact that it reminds me of Oh Seung-hwan in his prime, Park Young-hyun said, “I’m honored to be compared to Oh Seung-hwan, a role model. I felt like I was approaching Oh Seung-hwan, but I will grow more without complacency.”
Park Young-hyun is also eager to play in 2026 WBC and throw his ball on the world stage. “I had a home run in the Seoul Series earlier this year, and I didn’t feel very good back then,” Park said. “If I have a chance, I would like to play in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and meet MLB hitters in good condition as I do now.”
Park Young-hyun was scolded in a practice game of the Seoul Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Dome in Seoul in March as a member of the national team. He allowed a superior home run to Chris Taylor and gave up a right-handed hit to Hunter Pedusia. Park Young-hyun said, “If I have a chance, I really want to strike out when I meet MLB hitters again.”
