The Lotte Giants’ spring training camp in Guam is a competitive one

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The Lotte Giants’ spring training camp in Guam is a competitive one. The Giants are trying to keep up with the competition. Manager Kim Tae-hyung is currently thinking about who to cut from the squad rather than who to add. That means the competition is fierce.

In terms of the starting lineup, four spots are set in stone. Foreign players Charlie Barnes and Aaron Wilkerson, along with homegrown starters Park Se-woong and Na Gyun-an, will make up the four. The fifth spot will be up for grabs, with the loser of that competition likely heading to long relief.

In the current spring training, Lee In-bok and Han Hyun-hee are competing for the spot. Left-hander Shim Jae-min was a strong candidate for the fifth spot, but he missed camp with a sore shoulder. Lee In-bok and Han Hyun-hee are in a two-way battle. It’s hard to say who’s better, but the time spent competing is helping to motivate the players. Lee In-bok has already shown results with five starts in 2022. After bouncing back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen, he settled in as a starter and had his best season as a fifth starter, going 9-9 with a 4.19 ERA in 26 games (23 starts) and 1.0 WHIP in 126⅔ innings. 토토사이트 He was within striking distance of 10 wins, but fell off the pace down the stretch.

The hard-throwing prospect,

Who was drafted in the second round of the 2014 draft, had a long injury-plagued career. However, after being fitted with a two-seam, he became one of the league’s best ‘grounder’ pitchers. Lee’s unmistakable character adds personality and diversity to the Lotte starting lineup. His 1.39 groundball-to-flyball ratio in 2022 was the eighth-highest among pitchers with at least 120 innings pitched.

However, he underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow before spring training in the 2023 season. He had the surgery in late January and returned in June. There were concerns within and outside of the organization that his return would be premature, and he ended up going 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA (24 earned runs in 33 1/3 innings) in 10 games (five starts). “I really hated the term ‘flashy pitcher,'” said Lee, who was unable to replicate his 2022 season.

It’s been a year since his surgery. Now he can throw the ball without worry. Last year, he rushed his return from surgery and didn’t utilize his strongest pitching angle. His lackluster delivery made him easy prey for hitters and contributed to his poor performance.

In-bok, who met Lee at the Guam spring training camp

He is adjusting his pace after quickly picking up his velocity when he was healthy. “I picked up my pace in camp, but now it feels normal. I feel like I went up and then dropped back down a little bit,” he explained.

“I never thought that I would be in the starting lineup for 2022 because I played one season,” he said. “Last year I had surgery and they gave me a chance, but I didn’t do it. This year, I came to camp prepared differently. I’m down a little bit now, but I hope to be 100 percent by the time we play Okinawa.”

Despite falling short of the 10-win threshold in 2022, the memory of a career-high season is still fresh in his mind. “I didn’t win 10 games in 2022, but I still remember throwing a full season as a starter. I had one good season, so I know how happy I was,” he said, adding, “To get back to that feeling, I need to be healthy and throw on the mound and produce good results.”

With the pain out of the way and the happy memories in his mind, he sharpened his main weapon: his pitching. “I’m confident if I pitch well,” he said. My movement is definitely better than last year. If I feel good here and the ball has good speed, I think I can go up to about 144 kilometers, which is enough to overcome the hitters. I’m always confident on the mound,” he emphasized.

With senior players such as,

Kim Sang-soo, Jin Hae-soo, and Lim Jun-sup from outside the organization, Lee In-bok, a middle-ranked pitcher, is also working with the juniors to build up their motivation. The club’s internal assessment is that the pitching staff is strong enough, but they want to create more synergy. Lee In-bok is on board with this.

“The older brothers are new, and they seem to be working out with a new mindset that they have to work hard. “The younger players are also working harder, so the pitching staff’s condition has improved,” he said. “We are trying to keep up with the training volume. I can see that they are trying to keep up with the training volume. They’re all working hard to keep up.”

“I think the pitching staff will only get stronger if we grow and work harder every year. 파워볼사이트 추천 We have a lot of good pitchers now, but I think they will get better,” he said, expressing pride and confidence in his pitching staff.

If Lee In-bok can relive the memories of his past performance as a No. 5 starter and stabilize his performance as a No. 5 starter, the pieces of Lotte’s pitching staff will be complete. Lee In-bok’s sharpness could lead Lotte to even greater heights.