“It was a day when I painfully felt how important a second-round pick is.”
KIA Tigers general manager Shim Jae-hak let out a short sigh after completing the 2024 KBO rookie draft on September 14th. KIA, which gave up its second-round pick to the Kiwoom Heroes in a trade last winter, exercised its first-round pick on Gangneung High School pitcher Cho Dae-hyun. Then, Kiwoom, which exercised the nomination rights granted by KIA in the second round of selection, nominated Seongnam High School infielder Lee Jae-sang.
In the 3rd round nomination that came after a long wait, KIA called Gyeonggi High School catcher Lee Sang-jun. Lee Sang-jun is a resource considered the biggest catcher among high school seniors this year. Lee Sang-jun played in 19 official competitions this year and recorded a batting average of 0.243/17 hits/3 home runs/14 RBI/on-base percentage/0.341/slugging percentage of 0.400. Lee Sang-jun also participated in the World Youth Baseball Championship held in Taiwan recently and helped the Korean national team win a bronze medal.
General Manager Shim Jae-hak said, “It was a great fortune that we were able to catch Lee Sang-jun in the third round. To be honest, I didn’t expect Lee Sang-jun to be nominated because I thought he would come out before our turn. He is a player who appears to have the potential to grow into a large catcher. He is also so good at throwing that his pop time to second base is comparable to that of professional players. He expressed great expectations, saying, “His growth rate will be fast.”
Lee Sang-jun, who took a commemorative photo of his nomination alongside Cho Dae-hyun (1st round pick) and Kaesong High School pitcher Kim Tae-yoon (4th round pick), who played for the same team, met with MK Sports after the nomination ceremony and said, “It is truly an honor to be nominated by the KIA Tigers. My name wasn’t mentioned until the second round, so I thought I could be selected by KIA if I did well, and I was happy that it became a reality. The moment the name ‘Gyeonggi High School’ came up, I thought it was me (laughter). I heard that it is a prestigious club with the most fans and an excellent training system. He expressed his thoughts on being nominated, saying, “I want to go quickly and step onto the first team stage as soon as possible.”
Lee Sang-jun expressed his ambition to grow into a large catcher who combines both offense and defense rather than an offensive catcher.
Lee Sang-jun said, “The term ‘offensive catcher’ sticks with me, but I want to go to the pros and grow into a catcher capable of both offense and defense. I am confident not only in stopping base stealers but also in blocking and pitching lead. I also want to learn a lot from Taegun Kim, a veteran catcher on our team. “They say it takes a lot of time to develop as a catcher, but I want to improve my skills in the shortest possible time and prove my potential on the first-team stage,”메이저사이트 he emphasized.
Lee Sang-jun chose Lee Ui-ri and Jeong Hae-young as the team seniors he would most like to receive the ball from. The pitcher I most wanted to face was Hanwha Eagles pitcher Moon Dong-ju.
Lee Sang-jun said, “Seniors Ui-ri Lee and Hae-young Jeong seem to be taking on the role of aces as starters and bullpen players on the team’s mound, so I want to catch the ball as soon as possible. The pitcher I want to face is senior Moon Dong-ju. “When I watched him on TV, I felt like he threw the most powerful ball, so I wanted to play against him and get good results,” he said, nodding.
Lee Sang-jun pledged that he would grow into a player with not only baseball skills but also character. Lee Sang-jun said, “I am happy to go to KIA Tigers once again. My parents also liked it more than me (laughter). He wants to be not just a player who is good at baseball, but a player who is said to be good at baseball but also has good fan service and personality. He said emphatically, “It won’t be easy as a catcher, but he will try to win Rookie of the Year.”
