Will Han Jun-su (25), an “offensive catcher” who solved the KIA Tigers’ long-standing problems, succeed in boarding the national team for the first time in his life.
In the 2018 rookie draft, Kia boldly picked Han Jun-su, a catcher from Dongseong High School, as its first choice. In the 2017 season, Kia’s home turf was weak as its catcher’s team batting average (0.221) and OPS (0.571) remained at the bottom.
Since then, Kia has been agonizing over whether to grab a catcher or not for a long time. As the team had no key catcher for the past two years, it has sought to strengthen its home turf by recruiting Park Dong-won (current LG Twins), Kim Tae-gun, and Ju Hyo-sang through trade. However, Park left Kia by signing an FA contract with LG, and Ju Hyo-sang hardly made appearance in the first team. However, only Kim Tae-gun did his part.
Kia, which had been agonizing over the catcher issue, got the best hit product this season. The catcher Han Jun-su who was the “first designated” has finally revealed his potential. Han Jun-su, who left only seven games (6 hits in 20 at-bats) in the first team in 2019, returned to the team last year after resolving the military issue and recorded a batting average of 0.256 (22 hits in 86 at-bats) and two home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games, gradually revealing his potential.
Under the new coach Lee Bum-ho, who took the helm in the 2024 season, Han Jun-su was guaranteed more opportunities to play and quickly established himself in the top team. Han Jun-su, who accumulated experience by sharing his playing time with veteran Kim Tae-gun, contributed greatly to KIA’s ranking first in the regular season by batting .307 (88 hits in 287) with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 115 games.
Although he failed to meet the required number of at-bats, Han Jun-su’s performance stands out enough. He ranked second in the batting average after Yang Eui-ji (0.314) of the Doosan Bears among catchers who played more than 70 percent of the required number of at-bats this season. He had a higher batting average than Kang Min-ho (0.303) of the Samsung Lions, who succeeded in rejuvenating, and was the only catcher in his 20s with a batting average of around .300 and an OPS of .8 or higher. Even in the history of the Tigers (including Haitai and KIA), Han Jun-su is the first catcher to perform “300” (based on more than 70 percent of the required number of at-bats).
Han Jun-su, who entered the preparation mode for the Korean Series, also played as a substitute in a practice game against the Sangmu Baseball Team on the 9th and showed off his hot attack by scoring two hits, two RBIs and two runs in three at-bats, including a double. Han Jun-su, who won the title of “the main catcher of the first team in the regular season,” is aiming to win the Korean Series in his peak condition.
Han Jun-su, who spent his career high season in his seventh year as a member of the team, even looks at the first Taegeuk mark of his career. The KBO’s Power Enhancement Committee submitted a preliminary list of 2024 Premier 12 먹튀검증 “Team Korea” to the World Baseball Softball Association (WBSC) on September 12, and Han Jun-su was listed in the catcher position with four out of 60 players selected, along with NC Dinos Kim Hyung-joon, Doosan Bears Kim Ki-yeon, and Lotte Giants Son Sung-bin. Among them, Son Sung-bin underwent surgery for a ligament injury in his right wrist.
Kim Hyung-joon, who served as the main catcher of the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) under Ryu Joong-il, has a slightly lower batting average of 0.195 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 119 games, but he is likely to be re-attacked due to his strength in hitting and stealing bases. Among the other candidates, Han Jun-su is the only left-handed hitter among the catchers on the reserve list, and is well worth seeking to join the national team as he has both sophistication and long-shot power.
The deadline for submission of the final roster for the Premier 12 national team is October 11. As the WBSC regulations allow players who are not included in the preliminary list of 60 players can be selected for the final roster in the future as the list can be changed before the final entry is confirmed. However, there is no young catcher who showed more outstanding performance than Han Jun-su this season among the players who failed to make the preliminary list. Attention is focusing on whether Han Jun-su, who has emerged as the starting catcher of the regular-league winning team, will be able to catch both the boarding of the Premier 12 national team and the victory of Kia in the Korean Series.
