The Korea Youth League said on Wednesday that seven players from the league have been nominated for the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft. This is the largest number in 14 years since its launch. In particular, the Asan Youth Baseball Team in South Chungcheong Province has produced professional players for three consecutive years.
In the draft held at Lotte Hotel World in Seoul on the 11th, Shim Jae-hoon, a former member of the youth baseball team in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, was selected by the Samsung Lions as the 13th overall in the second round. Shim Jae-hoon, the captain of Yoo Shin-go, is considered to be a versatile player who can defend no matter where he is in, although his main position is shortstop. The federation said, “He is talented in hitting enough to record a cycling hit this year, and the bigger advantage is his fast feet. The player Shim Jae-hoon himself wants to resemble is KIA Kim Do-young, who has a fast main force, sophisticated hitting, and long-range hitting power.”
Chungam High School pitcher Park Gun-woo (from Seongdong-gu Youth Baseball Team in Seoul) was drafted by KT Wiz as the 19th overall in the second round. In his 51 games in high school, Park had 22 wins, 3 losses and a 1.82 ERA with a 236 strikeout and a 0.89 WHIP over 203 innings.
Yatai High School Kim Hyun-woo (Gyeonggi Bundang Royals Youth Baseball Team) with a 1.46 ERA in his high school career and outfielder Kim Dong-hyun (from Incheon Gyeyang-gu Youth Baseball Team) with three beats received Lotte Giants’ nomination 24 times in the third round and 54 times in the sixth round, respectively. 토토사이트
Shinheung High School left-hander Lee Young-jae (from Uijeongbu Youth Baseball Team in Gyeonggi Province), who was also nominated by Lotte for 64th overall in the 7th round, had a 1.45 ERA in his high school career and 72 strikeouts without a home run in 56 ⅓ innings.
In addition, Kim Sung-jae (a former member of Namyangju Yanol Youth Baseball Team in Gyeonggi Province), who has been drawing attention as a catcher with long-shot power since his youth baseball days, was selected by the Doosan Bears as 76th overall in the eighth round, and Im Jin-mook (a former member of Asan City Youth Baseball Team) was selected by the Kiwoom Heroes as 81st overall in the ninth round. For the third year in a row, the Asan City Youth Baseball Team has been nominated after Kwon Dong-hyuk (LG Twins) and Park Ji-ho (Doosan) in 2024.
Hwang Min-ho, manager of Asan City Youth Baseball Team, said, “We are always young players who are faithful to the basics and try to talk about why we have to play baseball. Becoming a professional baseball player is a goal for a young player who plays baseball, but more importantly, it is to create an environment to enjoy baseball with a ‘process’.”
Lee Sang-geun, chairman of the Korea Youth Baseball Federation, said, “The growth of youth baseball continues despite the low birth rate, and the ratio is increasing. In the meantime, the number of players from the federation was the highest in a year in the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft, but this year we produced seven players,” adding, “The advantage of our federation system is the harmony of players and hobbies, and we plan to work harder to revitalize the professional and daily sports sectors. I congratulate you on becoming a professional baseball player and support you on behalf of youth baseball players and parents on your happy path.”
