Doosan Bears rookie pitcher Jun-ho Choi pitched two innings in his first Futures League game. In his first outing, Choi topped out at 146 km/h on his fastball.
On May 25, Choi made a start against the Goyang Heroes in the Futures League, giving up two runs on two hits (one home run) with two walks and three strikeouts in two innings.
Choi, who was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, has been compared to former team legend Dustin Nippert for his superior physical attributes. Like Niepert, Choi’s fastball is a hard-hitting pitch that comes down from high in the zone. Combine that with his slider and curveball, and he has all the makings of a homegrown Nippert.
However, Choi was not able to make his first-team debut right away this season. An elbow problem slowed his preparation for the season. After rehabbing, Choi started pitching out of the bullpen in late April and gradually worked his way up to pitching for the first time on May 25.
Sharing the mound with catcher Yoon Jun-ho in the bottom of the first inning, Choi got off to a fresh start by striking out the leadoff batter, Lee Byung-kyu, on a wild pitch. However, after giving up a hit to the next batter, Kim Jun-wan, he gave up a two-run home run to Kim Woong-bin with the bases loaded and a distance of 105 meters.
With his pitches starting to shake a bit, Choi gave up back-to-back singles to Joo Sung-won and Jeon Byung-woo. However, he got Kim Joo-hyung to fly out to right field to end the first inning without further damage.
In the top of the second inning, Doosan Future’s bats came alive with a run-scoring single by infielder Seo Ye-il and a two-run double by Yoon Jun-ho to make it 3-2.토토사이트
In the bottom of the inning, Choi Jun-ho took the mound and struck out the leadoff batter, Park Sung-bin, on a wild pitch. He then gave up a walk to the next batter, Lee Seung-won, but was saved by catcher Yoon Jun-ho’s stealing jersey. Choi then got Lee Byung-gyu to fly out to left field to end the second inning.
The Doosan Future Team bench replaced Choi, who threw 56 pitches (31 strikes) in two innings, with Je Hwan-yu in the bottom of the third before the defense began. Choi finished the day with a fastball (140 km/h to 146 km/h), slider (128 km/h to 135 km/h), and forkball (132 km/h to 137 km/h).
His fastball topped out at 146 km/h and his forkball movement in his first outing was positive. However, his fastball and slider still need work. Now that he’s made his first real start, it will be interesting to see how he improves in his next outing.