It seems that the Kia Tigers have finally found a successor to the Korean right-handed ace. Kim Do-hyun (25) who survived the race to start the fifth starting pitcher has become one of the pillars of the starting lineup, displaying consistent pitching in the early days of the season.
Kim Do-hyun started the game against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on the 6th and recorded a quality start with 6 innings of 93 pitches, 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, 5 strikeouts, and 3 runs. Even though he was not replaced and became a winning pitcher in a tie-breaking situation, he showed enough pitching to serve as a foothold for the 5-3 victory. He struggled by allowing 2 runs in the first inning due to the shaky control in the early part of the game, but the pitching was highlighted by the fact that he quickly found stability from the second inning.카지노사이트
Kia Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho had high expectations for Kim this year. Kim, who came to Kia in April 2022 in a trade with Hanwha Eagles, resolved the military issue first while active in the military, and was discharged from the military in February last year to prepare for joining the first team. Lee began to stand out as he increased his physique while serving in the military and raised his arrest through a second-tier pitcher development program.
Kim took the mound in 35 games (10 starts) last season, recording four wins and six losses, three holds, 75 innings, an ERA of 4.92 and contributing to the victory by pitching three innings of one hit, one walk, three strikeouts, and no runs in two games of the Korean Series as relief pitchers. After watching Kim Do-hyun well last season, Lee decided to develop him into a starting pitcher and put up a five-star competition with Hwang Dong-ha this spring. Kim was able to join the starting rotation by gaining the upper hand in this competition.
Kim had one win and two losses, 40 ⅔ innings and an earned run average of 3.10 in seven games this season. Although he might be in a hurry due to lack of luck in his team's victory, Kim kept his starting rotation stable. It is actually his first full-time season as a starting pitcher, but he has yet to complete five innings and play any games early. He has four quality starts, ranking third in his team following James Nail (sixth inning) and Adam Oler (fiveth inning). He ranks second in ERA after ace Nail (1.09). In fact, it is safe to say that Kim is currently the ace in KIA.
As Kia, which was considered the first-tier team, has been hovering around the middle and lower ranks so far, Kim Do-hyun's growth is all the more welcome. As of Tuesday, Kia ranks sixth with SSG Landers with 16 wins and 18 losses and a 0.471 win rate. Since the opening of the game, its main batters, including Kim Do-young, Park Chan-ho, Kim Sun-bin and Na Sung-bum, have been left due to injury, which was a big blow. All of them are back now except Na Sung-bum, but the batters have still displayed destructive power just like last year's. The mound was also worried because Yang Hyun-jong (5.89 ERA) and Yoon Young-chul (15.88 ERA), who were selected as the third and fourth starters, were sluggish side by side, but Kim Do-hyun gained support by performing more than five starts.
Lee and Kia's coaching staff did not doubt Kim Do-hyun's leap forward this year. "[Kim] Do-hyun must have gained a lot of confidence last year," Kia pitching coach Chung Jae-hoon said. If we enter the starting rotation this year, we are also looking forward to it because we think we will have a much better performance than last year. He is in good physical condition and good stamina."
KIA is a team where right-handed Korean aces was especially valuable. Left-handed aces will be easy for more than 10 years from Yang Hyeon-jong to Lee Eui-ri and Yoon Young-cheol, but right-handed aces have been cut off since Yoon Seok-min, who retired in 2018. Considering that Yoon almost took the mound as a bullpen pitcher since 2013, there has been no right-handed aces successor for 12 years.
Will Kim continue his good pace in the early days of this season? He will have an opportunity to grow into the ace right-hander of KIA and write the legend of a trade bonanza.