Kim Min-woo (Hanwha Eagles) pitched well in his own Cheongbaek match and occupied the advantageous position in the competition for the fifth starter. Hanwha’s own Cheongbaek match was held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Wednesday. All the players who are set to open the season sweated hard to improve their physical condition. While the Korean Monster, which had its first real game after returning to Korea, had good pitching (three innings, one hit, one walk, three strikeouts, and one run) and Chae Eun-sung’s fierce hitting (two hits, one homer, two RBIs and two runs from three times at bat), there was another good news. It was Kim Min-woo’s delightful throw. Taking the mound in the top of the fourth inning after Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim struck out Moon Hyun-bin and Kim Tae-yeon in succession. Then, Chae Eun-sung also made a fly to the second base, signaling a good start. Kim Min-woo’s rise continued in the top of the fifth inning. He struck out Lee Jin-young and drew a fly to center field to Ha Joo-seok. Lee Jae-won, the follow-up hitter, struck out. After taking the mound in the top of the sixth inning as well, Kim calmly increased his out count against Lee Myung-ki (left fielder fly), Park Sang-eon (baseman grounder), and Kim Kang-min (straight hit third baseman). The final result was four strikeouts and no run in three innings. The total number of pitches he threw was 31, and his maximum speed of fastball measured up to 147 kilometers. Kim Min-woo, who was called by Hanwha as the first overall player in the second round in 2015, is a right-handed pitcher who has 34 wins and 59 losses and an ERA of 5.30 in 180 games (757 innings) through the 2023 season. The 2020 season (132.2 innings), the 2021 season (155.1 innings), and the 2022 season (163 innings) all exceeded 100 innings, and he reigned as an ace in the 2021 season with 14 wins and 10 losses and an ERA of 4.00. However, the situation was not good last year. He was out of the team’s capacity after being hit hard in the early days, and was out for the season around June that year after being diagnosed with a ruptured deltoid muscle in his shoulder. As he played in just 12 games (51.2 innings), he had to accept his unsatisfactory report card of one win, six losses and 6.97 ERA. 퀸알바
Being desperate, Kim spent this off-season busier than anyone else. He spent his own time training at the Driveline Baseball Stadium in Seattle, the U.S.A. Driveline Baseball is a world-class training center that seeks to improve his skills based on data. Since then, he has sweated hard to rebound at spring camps in Australia and Japan.
Did he say sweat never betrays you? Kim recently showed good pitching in succession, signaling a revival of his career. At a practice match against the KT Wiz held during the Okinawa spring camp on Feb. 28, he pitched well, allowing three hits, three strikeouts and one run in 2.2 innings, and displayed good pitching again on the day.
Choi Won-ho, Hanwha’s manager, said after the Blue and White match, “Kim Min-woo’s ball was good. He certainly pitched well because his fastball is alive,” adding, “Kim Min-woo still has experience as a starter. He pitched around 150 innings last year, although he could not play many innings due to his shoulder injury. If his ball power recovers and shows good condition, we cannot ignore Kim’s experience.”
Currently, Hanwha’s fifth starter is still undecided. Along with Kim Min-woo, Hwang Joon-seo, left-hander Kim Ki-joong, and right-hander Lee Tae-yang are competing for this position. Hwang Joon-seo, who seemed to be in the best condition at the spring camp, seemed to be the closest, but as Kim Min-woo has been on the rise recently, the race for fifth starter is expected to continue until the exhibition game, which will kick off on September 9. Of course, Kim Min-woo is leading the game.
“Hwang Jun-su is a good player, but everything is different between a professional and an amateur player, such as nervousness, batters to deal with, and strike zone,” Choi said. “(Hwang Jun-su) is a good player. He has the qualifications to be able to provide ample opportunities to select the fifth starter. Nevertheless, once Kim recovers his ball power, it is true that the coach will lean on experienced players. I will wait until the exhibition game and decide (to select the fifth starter),” Choi said.
During the Okinawa spring camp, Kim Min-woo said, “We have to compete in the same manner as the best before the fifth starter is decided. I am working hard to do so. I want to win the competition and join the starting lineup. My ultimate goal is to throw as many innings as possible as a starting pitcher.” Kim’s dream is becoming a reality.
