Shim Jun-seok (19), who is challenging the major leagues of American professional baseball, will join the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On the 15th (local time), MLB.com, the official homepage of Major League Baseball, announced that Shim Jun-seok agreed to join the Pittsburgh Pirates.
MLB.com said, “Pittsburgh has acquired international prospects such as Korean pitcher Shim Jun-seok and Dominican Republic outfielder Raymond Mora.”
“Sim Joon-seok reminds me of Park Chan-ho’s childhood,” he
continued, “Korea’s best prospect, Shim Joon-seok, throws a fast ball with an average speed of 94 to 96 miles (about 151 to 154 km) and a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (about 161 km).” He has a curve that falls vertically, and he controls all pitches he has well.”
He added, “I received a lot of attention for my neat pitching form and athletic ability based on my confident physical condition.”
He also emphasized, “I can throw a slider and a changeup in the future,” and “Throwing a fast ball from the early teens and calmly pitching and growing up reminds me of Park Chan-ho’s childhood.”
Korea’s first major leaguer, Park Chan-ho, threw fast balls and curveballs to record 124 wins (98 losses, 20 saves), the most by an Asian pitcher.
Shim Jun-seok, who received attention from major league clubs by throwing a fastball that reached 150 km/h since his freshman year at 토토사이트 Deoksu High School, was likely to be the first choice in the KBO League draft, but he immediately chose to advance to the American stage.
‘America Direct’
Shim Jun-seok, who joined hands with ‘super agent’ Scott Boras, signs with Pittsburgh as an ‘international amateur player’ and starts in the minor leagues according to the Korea-US player agreement. However, MLB.com is placing high expectations on Shim Jun-seok, ranking him first overall and second among pitchers among international prospects this year.
In the past, there were many cases where, like Park Chan-ho and Kim Byung-hyun, they went directly to the United States without going through the KBO league. However, more Korean pitchers who have recently entered the major leagues have completed verification in the KBO league, such as Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Kwang-hyun, Oh Seung-hwan, and Yang Hyeon-jong.
On the other hand, Shim Jun-seok broke this trend and immediately threw a challenge to the American stage, and safely passed his first hurdle by joining Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, which did not have enough club finances, actively brought in and nurtured international prospects. In particular, Kang Jeong-ho once played for the club, and now Bae Ji-hwan plays. In addition, after recently recruiting Choi Ji-man, the relationship with Korean players continues until Shim Jun-seok.
It is noteworthy whether Shim Jun-seok, who is already receiving high expectations to the extent of being called ‘Park Chan-ho as a child’, will overcome the fierce competition and stand on the major league stage.