“It’s very well put together.”
Lotte chief and hitting coach Park Heung-sik is happy to see the young players on the team. Since the second half of last year, I have watched the players as a hitting coach for the 2nd team, and this year, I have to lead Lotte’s hitting while simultaneously serving as the head coach and hitting coach for the 1st team. In addition, we need to confirm the potential and potential of young players and lay the foundation for them to unfold. As coach Park Heung-sik, time is inevitably lacking.
But when I look at Lotte’s young players, I can’t help but be happy. In particular, a large number of players selected from the 2022 draft, which will be in their second year at the Guam spring camp this year, are competing with their seniors. Pitcher Lee Min-seok (1st pick), outfielder Cho Se-jin (2nd round, 1st round), pitcher Jin Seung-hyun (2nd round, 2nd round), outfielder Yoon Dong-hee (2nd round, 3rd round), infielder Kim Se-min (2nd round, 3rd round), Han Taeyang (2nd round, 6th) Round), a total of 6 people participated in the 1st team camp 안전놀이터. Even if the skills have not yet reached the main track, it is rare to see a large number of second-year players participate in the spring camp of the first team, which covers the boulder of the first team’s power resources this year.
Coach Heung-shik Park also confirmed that these players have extraordinary potential. He said, “The friends selected in 2022 are Lotte’s future, if not immediately,” and expressed satisfaction, saying, “When I was teaching amateurs at home, I felt that there weren’t many good players, but the Lotte club gathered a lot of talented players.”
It is unknown how many of them will be able to become regular members of the first team this year. Jo Se-jin and Han Tae-yang are scheduled to enlist in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) in May. It remains to be seen whether pitchers Lee Min-seok and Jin Seung-hyun will be able to break through the competition with senior pitchers. Kim Se-min and Yoon Dong-hee also lack experience compared to their seniors. The infield line that Kim Se-min needs to break through has become more solid with the addition of FA No Jin-hyeok, and Yoon Dong-hee, whose position has not yet been decided between outfielder and infielder, must also settle down.
In a situation where Lotte declared win-now by recruiting a large number of free agents this year, there is not much room and energy to give prospects a chance from the camp. However, Lotte made them all join the spring camp. The experience accumulated in the first team spring camp, where the players left for the first time with their seniors after joining, can be nourished forever.
In addition, infielder Na Seung-yeop and catcher Son Seong-bin, who are draftees for the 2021 draft, will return from discharge in June. These are also promising players that Lotte is proud of. In addition, rookie pitcher Lee Tae-yeon and fielder Kim Min-seok will also participate in the Guam spring camp in 2023, waiting to become the signboards of the next generation Lotte.
Lotte’s futures centered on the 2022 draft. The Guam Spring Camp is being reborn as a place where hopes for the future sprout while making this year more perfect.