Six aspiring baseball players from Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province entered the professional league.
KBO held the ‘2024 KBO League Rookie Draft’ at the Westin Chosun Seoul, Jung-gu, Seoul on the 14th. A total of 1,083 people applied for this draft, including 782 high school graduates, 296 college graduates (including 41 early draftees), and 5 other overseas amateur and professional players.
Among the participants from the province, the player who was nominated the fastest was right-handed pitcher Kim Hwi-geon (Whimoon High School). With his sturdy 191cm physique inherited from his father, Kim Man-seok (49), who was a member of the national youth basketball team, and his mother, Jeong Yun-sook (48), who was a member of the women’s national basketball team, he was ranked 5th overall in the first round, throwing fastballs exceeding 150 km per hour. was nominated by NC Dinos. Kim Hwi-geon, who dreamed of becoming a baseball player at Chuncheon Soyang Elementary School and Chuncheon Middle School, said, “I will dedicate my right arm to the NC Dinos,” and “I want to become a player who can be chosen as a role model for juniors in the distant future.”
Cho Dae-hyun, who earned the nickname ‘Jotani’ while playing a double hitter at Gangneung High School, was selected by the KIA Tigers with the 6th overall pick in the first round. KIA nominated him as a pitcher because he performed well in both pitches this season. Cho Dae-hyeon, a right-handed pitcher who is 193 cm tall and throws a fastball, got to share a meal with KIA’s key pitcher Choi Ji-min, a senior at Gangneung High School. He expressed his motivation, saying, “I am really grateful to my parents and Gangneung High School coach Jae-ho Choi,” and “I can do well whatever the club asks me to do.”
Right-handed pitcher Yuk Cheong-myeong, who played as a one-two punch for Gangneung High School along with Cho Dae-hyun, joined the KT Wiz with the 17th overall pick in the second round. Although he was unable to participate in the first half of the season this season due to an injury, he easily entered the professional stage as he was a key pitcher for Gangneung High School last year, when he was a sophomore. Gangneung Yeongdong National University outfielder Da-min Jeon and pitcher Min-ju Kim were selected by the Doosan Bears (52nd pick in the 6th round) and KIA (66th pick in the 7th round), respectively.안전놀이터
Infielder Jeong Jun-jae (Dongguk University) from Gangneung High School participated in the draft early and was selected by SSG Landers as the 10th pick in the 5th round.