“I will use it as a starting pitcher for the next game as well.”
SSG Landers coach Kim Won-hyung publicly announced his plan to appoint rookie pitcher Song Young-jin (19) as a starting pitcher.
Song Young-jin started 메이저놀이터in an away game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 26th and pitched 6 innings, 5 hits, 3 walks and 3 runs (2 earned). In his third start in his debut, he recorded his first quality start (6 or more innings and no more than 3 earned runs). SSG, who won 5-3, regained the leading position lost to LG in one day.
Song Young-jin, from Daejeon High School, is a rookie in 2023 (15th overall in the second round).
Unbeknownst to a rookie, Song Young-jin filled the hole in SSG’s early season starters better than expected. At SSG, which originally had six starting resources, Eni Romero is currently closed due to a shoulder injury. Kim Gwang-Hyun and Park Jong-Hun were separated for 10 days each due to shoulder inflammation and sluggishness. The pitcher who minimized this gap is Song Young-jin. As SSG fought for the lead at the beginning of the season, they even got a pleasant income by discovering Song Young-jin.
However, on the 26th, coach Kim Won-hyeong announced a policy to exclude Song Young-jin from the rotation prior to the match against LG. This is because Park Jong-hoon is scheduled to return on the 30th. At the same time, he said, “(Song) I’m thinking about whether to leave Youngjin as a bullpen or (later) starter.”
Song Young-jin recorded 4 earned runs (1.93 ERA) in a total of 18 2/3 innings in 5 games of the season. He posted a 2.57 earned run average in two wins in three starts.
Coach Won-hyung Kim classifies Young-jin Song as a starting resource in the long term, but currently SSG has no difficulty in rotating a five-man starting rotation (Kwang-hyun Kim, Kirk McCarty, Jong-hoon Park, Seung-won Moon, and Won-seok Oh) even if one foreign pitcher is missing.
The decision of the command tower is ‘starting pitcher’ Song Young-jin. Before the game on the 27th, manager Kim Won-hyeong said, “When the existing starting lineup is given a break one by one, we plan to put Song Young-jin in his place.” Currently, Moon Seung-won, who is scheduled to pitch twice next week, will appear against the KT Wiz on the 2nd and will be removed from the first team. Then, on the 7th, against Kiwoom Heroes, Song Young-jin is planned to replace Moon Seung-won.
Song Young-jin has not yet fully equipped with the stamina and durability to consistently play in the starting rotation. This left him out of the roster, but he accompanies the first team players. Although there are ups and downs in the pitch, Song Young-jin’s fastball speed reaches up to 150 km per hour. He also has good ball end strength. Manager Kim Won-hyung praised him as “a style that only cares about the batter and the game (without being nervous).” Song Young-jin said, “I want to throw 7 innings, 8 innings, and 9 innings in the future.”
Manager Kim Won-hyeong laughed, saying, “Before recruiting a new foreign pitcher, if there are no injured players in the existing starting lineup, then (Song) Young-jin is worried about where to put it.”