Lee Jung-hoo (26, San Francisco Giants) has been hitting hard every day. This time, he hit a 153-kilometer fastball, which made his father Lee Jong-beom (54) happy.
Lee Jung-hoo started as the first hitter in the 2024 MLB exhibition game against the Texas Rangers at Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona on the 2nd (Korea time) and recorded 1 hit in 3 times at bat.
Lee Jung-hoo, who recorded one hit in three at-bats against the Seattle Mariners on the 28th of last month, his debut in the MLB exhibition game, hit his first home run the previous day and recorded a hit in three consecutive games until this day.
Lee’s interim performance in exhibition games is 0.444 with four hits from nine times at bat, one homer, and two runs scored. His on-base percentage is 0.444, his slugging percentage is 0.889, and his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) is 1.333.
His performance on the day was all the more special. Coach Lee Jong-beom, who is drawing a lot of attention in the local area with the nickname “Son of the Wind,” visited the site. As he is undergoing coaching training in a minor league under Texas, he has watched Lee Jung-hoo play in the opposing team.
Lee faced off against Adrian Sampson at his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning. Samson was a right-handed pitcher who played for Lotte Giants in the 2020 KBO League, showing regret with 9 wins and 12 losses and ERA 5.40, but showed promise with 4 wins and 5 losses and ERA 3.11 in the 2022 Big League.
Samson did not enjoy the game. After leaving the batter’s box on a fly ball to center field at his first batter’s box, Lee took the lead again at the bottom of the third inning, but was pulled out on a fly to the third base.
He had a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lee hit a fastball of 95 miles per hour (about 153 kilometers) off the replaced pitcher Cole Win. Despite the poor ball count 0-2, Lee boldly swung the bat to create a hit to the center field. Lee, who took the second base on Michael Confoto’s hit, failed to add a run due to the failure of his follow-up shot, and was replaced by Donovan Walton at the bottom of the sixth inning. San Francisco won the game 11-5.
Lee Jung-hoo, who became the best player in the KBO League by recording the top batting average (0.340), advanced to the U.S. stage with the highest price ever in Asia at $113 million (150.9 billion won) for six years in the All-Stove League.
No one doubted Lee’s batting ability. No one doubted Lee’s batting ability. According to the depth charts, Lee will play in 134 games in the 2024 season, posting a batting average of 0.291 (151 hits from 581 times at bat), 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 78 runs scored, failed to steal three bases, 53 strikeouts and 48 walks, and an on-base percentage of 0.354 with a slugging percentage of 0.431, an OPS of 0.785, a wRC+116, and a WAR (contributing to victory compared to substitutes) 3.2. Lee was rated as the best in his team in terms of attack ability, and his defense was also projected to be above average.
“There are predictions that contact-type star players will come to the Major League from top-ranked overseas leagues again this year,” MLB.COM said earlier. “The 25-year-old left-handed batter will be in the top 10 in the competition for the batting champion of the Major League and top 5 in the National League.” It also predicted that Lee Jung-hoo will win the Rookie of the Year award.
The variable was a fastball. “Lee is a pure heater with smooth and fast swings (a player with good contact skills). He has his own certain strike zone,” said Baseball America. “He will need time to adjust to fastballs in Major League Baseball, but his bat speed, batting eye, and smooth swing will help him become a batter above average in the league as time goes by.”
NBC Sports Bay Area said, “The only stumbling block to Lee is that he hails from the 88-mile (about 141.6 kilometers) KBO league, which is slower than the big league, which has an average fastball speed of 93 miles (about 149.7 kilometers),” adding, “He could get more strikeouts in the process of adapting to the game in the early stages. The level of KBO league is believed to be between Triple-A and Double-A.”
Lee Jung-hoo, who accurately targeted the breaking ball of 13-win pitcher George Kirby last year in his exhibition game debut, complained of difficulties with the fastballs of big leaguers, but proved it with his skills. In the game on the 1st, he hit a 81.6-mile (131.3 kilometers) cutter against Rein Nelson to score a double, and in the top of the third inning, he hit a 94.3-mile (151.8 kilometers) fastball to make a home run with an 18-degree line drive with a launch angle of 109.7 miles (176.5 kilometers) per hour.
The day was faster. He hit a fastball of 153 kilometers, making a hit once again. Compliments are pouring in for him day after day.
After his debut game, manager Bob Melvin praised him, saying, “I waited a long time. It was a little bit late. I saw him get off to a good start when I hit a home run on the first day,” and gave a thumbs-up to him, who hit a home run on the first day. “He seems to respond to everything from fastballs, breaking balls, etc.”
BY: 사설 토토사이트