SSG Landers sensed the feeling of a big hit coming from Lee Seung-min (18, Whimoon High School), the eldest son of red chopping block Lee Byeong-gyu (49), the current Samsung Lions first team head coach. He was highly evaluated as having the potential to follow in the footsteps of not only his father, but also his senior at Whimoon High School, Lee Jeong-hoo (25, Kiwoom Heroes).스포츠토토
SSG selected Seung-min Lee as the 20th overall second round pick in the 2024 KBO rookie draft held at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. on the 14th.
SSG, which received the 10th pick in this draft after winning last year’s regular league wire-to-wire and dominating the Korean Series, adopted a strategy that focused on reinforcing fielders rather than pitchers in the upper rounds. Lee Seung-min, who was evaluated as one of the top three promising fielders in this draft, was expected to be drafted as early as the second round. He recorded a high school career batting average of 0.303, 2 home runs, 28 RBIs, 21 runs, 2 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of 0.405, a slugging percentage of 0.508, and an OPS of 0.913. This year, as a junior, he also performed well with a batting average of 0.328, 1 home run, 16 RBIs, 11 runs, 2 stolen bases, and an OPS of 0.905 in 19 games. Because there was. Within the SSG team, it was evaluated that “He has outstanding strengths in batting and has the ability to handle breaking balls beyond the high school level. Also, with his outstanding physical condition, he has great expectations in the long-hitting category and has the potential for development.”
SSG general manager Kim Seong-yong, who we met right after the draft, also told Star News, “I thought Seung-min Lee would go out before the second round, but he came right up to our turn as if he wanted to be our player.” He continued, “From my perspective, I think he is a player who will continue the lineage of Whimoon High School that goes back to Jeong-hoo Lee and Min-seok Kim (19, Lotte Giants). He is a player who understands the center of gravity movement batting method well, so I think he will become a great hitter in the pros as long as he determines his position well.” expressed expectations.
In an interview during the draft, Seungmin Lee said, “I am very grateful to be selected by a good team called SSG. My father was the reason I started playing baseball. I am grateful for raising me like this. Although we were on different teams, our hearts were always in the same place.” “I think so. I will do my best to show a good performance in the first team starting next year,” he said. Afterwards, he expressed his thoughts through the club, saying, “It is an honor to be nominated in a high order, and I will work harder. I have great confidence in my batting, and I want to become a player who will leave his name in the team’s history.”
Previously, SSG nominated Park Ji-hwan (18, Se-Gwang High School), who played in the recently concluded World Youth World Cup, at number 10 in the first round. It was the first fielder selected in this draft. SSG explained, “Park Ji-hwan is an excellent infielder with three basic skills in attack, defense, and base. He has strong shoulders and excellent throwing ability. In addition, he has excellent contact ability in batting and has achieved consistent results throughout the year.”
Park Ji-hwan said, “I feel good going out first among the fielders, and I will work hard as they trusted me and selected me. I can’t believe it and am really happy to have been nominated by a good club called SSG sooner than expected. I have confidence in my bat control and base running, and I have been working hard to achieve good results and work hard since joining the team.” “I want to become a player who becomes an example to others when it comes to sports,” he said of his nomination.
The mid-lower round focused on nominating players who can be used immediately as a force next season, but who can leap to a starting role in the Cheongna Dome era in the mid- to long-term. Accordingly, the physical strength, experience, power, and desperation of college players were highly evaluated, and emphasis was placed on nominating two-year college players and early draft players.
From the 3rd round, pitcher Ki-ho Park (Cheongju High School), pitcher Hyun-seok Choi (Busan National University of Science and Technology), infielder Jun-jae Jeong (Dongguk University), outfielder Hyun-seung Jeong (Inha University), pitcher Seong-bin Park (Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies), outfielder Jun-seo Baek (Deoksu High School), pitcher Seong-bo Yoon (Songwon University), The nominations were completed in that order: catcher Kim Gyu-min (Yeoju University), and pitcher Byeon Geon-woo (Chungam High School).
After completing the rookie draft, SSG commented, “We are happy to be able to nominate the players we had planned. The new players will be able to become the center of the team’s generational change in the mid- to long-term.”