In the 2024 draft, the Hanwha Eagles have a mix of standard and risky picks.
While the first and second rounds were predictable, the third round was a wild ride. “Team Leader Jung Min-hyuk was the one who drafted Moon Hyun-bin and Lee Min-joon last year,” said Son, adding that the outline of the players came after intense discussions with Jung.
In an official media interview, Son and Chung publicly declared that they would “turn the Hanwha Eagles’ infield and outfield into a battlefield.” In fact, the Hanwha infield is solid this year. Noh Si-hwan, Lee Do-yoon, Moon Hyeon-bin, and Chae Eun-sung are the best infield in the last five years. They’re also the best on offense. But the Hanwha scouting team thinks differently. In their opinion, they are still hungry.
“Unless you’re Noh Si-hwan, it’s hard to say that you’ve established yourself. Especially, shortstop resources should always be ready. In particular, we need to transfuse new blood to keep the infield tense so that it’s not a battlefield,” he said.
The players selected are Ahn-seok Jung and Young-mook Hwang. Hwang Young-mook is a shortstop and Jung Ahn-seok is an infielder. First of all, Jung Ahn-seok is the second baseman of the youth national team and a reserve for the Asian Games. He is very skinny, but he has a beautiful batting mechanism and quick feet. He is a player who makes you think that if he grows up well, he will become a second baseman like Kim Hye-sung.
Team manager Jung said, “She can play outfield and infield. I named her because I think she specializes in hitting. He had a toe injury at the beginning of the season, so his value could have been higher~ I think he came down to this level because he didn’t show much because of the injury. He is a resource that should be taken in a much higher round.”
Hwang Young-mook said, “He can play all infield positions. We didn’t draft many infielders last year, but we should always have a shortstop resource ready,” said Hwang. His abilities have already been proven in the Korean Baseball Organization.
If Hwang Young-mook and Jung Ahn-seok are the infielders, Choi Jun-seo and Kwon Hyun are the outfielders. Choi Jun-seo was a shortstop at Yulgok High School and the team’s captain. He is a right-handed batting resource. He is a shortstop with good height and quick feet, so he has a wide range of defense. Unfortunately, his throwing accuracy was poor. Most of his six errors are throwing errors.
This led him to switch to the outfield. And the position switch was a huge success.
“He was a player who thought about being drafted in high school, but unfortunately, he didn’t make the team. His defense was disappointing, but his batting, shoulder, and throwing strength were quite good. He went to college as an outfielder and switched positions. After four years of playing a lot of games, I thought I had already developed a certain amount. He can play good defense in center field and sees the ball well at the plate. He has a good shoulder and has a lot of throwing power.” He is an evergreen hitter who is more accurate than long-range.
Kwon is actually a player who could be ranked much higher than he is. He was a top pick in the outfield this season. However, he fell into a severe hitting slump and plummeted down the order. But the key is that he’s a right-handed hitting outfielder with a good shoulder and good power. He’s practically a bottom-of-the-barrel pick. 카지노사이트
With this draft, Son and Chung once again laid out a clear blueprint for the Hanwha Eagles.
They said, “We will continue to draft players with overlapping positions. If there are good players, we will keep picking them. We will prioritize the order and the value of the players.”
With Lee Do-yoon, Moon Hyun-bin, Jung Eun-won, Ha Ju-seok, and Lee Min-joon in the infield and Choi In-ho and Lee Jin-young in the outfield, the team aims to create a competitive system where no one is safe. This is the direction of the Hanwha Eagles envisioned by Son Hyuk and Jung Min-hyuk.