The shoulder of the 19-year-old youngest saved the team from a crisis.
KT Wiz outfielder Jung Joon-young (19) took the place of Anthony Alford at the end of the 7th inning to defend against the Samsung Lions in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 23rd.먹튀검증
Jung Joon-young’s true value appeared in the second half of the game. Lee Kang-chul, kt coach, clearly proved why he sent him to the big defense.
In the bottom of the 8th inning when the team was leading 8-7, the situation with 2 out on 1st and 2nd base. Ryu Ji-hyeok’s batted ball landed in front of left fielder Jung Joon-young. Ahn Joo-hyung, the runner-up, was quickly turning around third base and digging home. After Jung Joon-yeong caught the ball, he quickly sprayed it to catcher Jang Seong-woo to catch the opposing runner.
Keeping the lead with Jung Joon-young’s defense, kt continued the atmosphere and won 8-7 against Samsung. Jung Joon-young showed off his outstanding shoulder and gave his team their first winning series in the second half.
Jung Joon-young wore the kt uniform with the 20th overall ranking in the 2nd round of the ‘2023 KBO League Rookie Draft’. This is his first season as a professional, but his active play in hitting, defense and running has been a boon to his team.
According to kt futures league power analyst, “Jung Joon-young has a good (first) start and a wide range of defense. In particular, as a player with a strong shoulder, the strength and accuracy of throwing are excellent.” And he’s showing promise by using that talent on the first team stage.
In fact, it was not the first time that Jung Joon-young’s shoulder shone. On the 9th of last month, he showed a flashing play against Suwon Kiwoom Heroes. In the beginning of the ninth inning, when the 2-2 game on thin ice continued, Jung-hoo Lee caught a hit on 1st and 2nd base and threw it home accurately to runner Byeong-wook Lim on second base. His shoulder saved the team twice this season alone. He had a hard time believing that a 19-year-old rookie showed up.
In addition to defense, Jung Joon-young can energize the team in many ways, with excellent contact and operational capabilities, aggressive base running and solo stealing. He is a top-notch prospect with a promising future.
Meanwhile, kt took the winning series against Samsung and moved up one notch to 6th place in the league (39 wins, 2 draws, 42 losses). The team was able to finish the first start of the second half in a good mood thanks to the shoulders of Jung Joon-young, who put the main players such as Ahn Joo-hyung and Lim Byung-wook to rest.
◆Jung Joon-young Information
Date of birth: January 26, 2004 2023
kt 2nd round 20th overall Nomination
2023 season 34 games batting average 0.292 (14 hits in 48 at-bats) 6 RBIs OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) 0.666
