The 2023 KBO second draft took place at The K Hotel Seoul in Seocho-gu, Seoul on April 22. It was biennially held from 2011 to 2019 to give players a chance to level the league, but was temporarily abolished when the Futures FA system was established. Then, it revived this year.
With three nominations available for each club, the eighth-ranked Samsung Lions, ninth-ranked Hanwha Eagles, and 10th-ranked Kiwoom Heroes were able to nominate two more this season.
Samsung picked LG Twins left-hander Choi Sung-hoon in the first round, Kiwoom Heroes underhander Yang Hyun in the second round, and Kiwoom infielder Jeon Byung-woo in the third round. Samsung incurred a total of 900 million won in transfer money. The transferred player cannot yield to the batting team for one year and is automatically protected when FA compensation occurs. 카지노사이트 순위
In addition, the first round must be registered for more than 50 days, the second round must be registered for more than 30 days, and there is no mandatory registration regulation for those under the third round.
For Samsung, which struggled hard with left-handed bullpen this past season, Choi chose Choi Sung-hoon as its best choice. Choi Sung-hoon, a graduate of Gyeonggi High School who wore an LG uniform as the 16th player in round 122, has played for LG only, excluding his mandatory military service. He has recorded eight wins, eight losses, two saves and 23 holds in 269 games overall.
He played in more than 45 games for three consecutive years from the 2020 season to the 2022 season, and his ERA was not bad at 3.51 in the 2020 season, 2.34 in the 2021 season, and 2.16 in the 2022 season. He also contributed to LG’s bullpen by playing as a pursuit group, a left-handed specialist, and sometimes as a must-win group. Notably, he contributed to LG’s achievement of the most wins in the team’s history by playing as four left-handed players along with Jin Hae-soo, Kim Dae-yu, and Lee Woo-chan in the 2022 season.
However, he had no chance at all in the 2023 season. All he had was one save and 15.00 ERA in five games. It was the lowest number of games he has played since four in the 2013 season. He only played in two games in May and one game in June. He stayed in the second tier before joining the league in October, ending the season with two games to play. Choi did not have a position at LG, which has a solid bullpen. While LG was enjoying the unified championship for the first time in 29 years, Choi, who had been excluded from the Korean Series, had to look from the outside.
Transferring to Samsung could be a chance for Choi. Samsung was the lowest in the league with a 5.16 ERA in the bullpen this season. In addition, Lee had no left-handed bullpen to trust. Lee, who was once named as the first player in his third year, suffered ups and downs with one win, five losses, five saves, and seven holds with an ERA of 4.98 in 48 games. Lee Jae-ik, however, gave strength to his team by posting a career high record of one win, three losses and 11 holds with an ERA of 3.95 in 51 games.
With Lee agonizing over starting pitcher, Choi’s shoulder has become heavier. He just didn’t get a chance this season, and his record was good in the Futures League. He had two wins, one loss and a 1.82 earned run average at 30 games. It can be said that he steadily built his body.
Lee Jong-yeol, the general manager of Samsung, said, “I am satisfied with the result of the nomination,” but added, “We have strengthened the depth of the left-hander bullpen pitcher by recruiting Choi Sung-hoon.”
Will Samsung be a land of opportunity for Choi? As players designated in the first round are obliged to register in the first division for more than 50 days, Choi will surely be given ample opportunity.