The ‘second Lee Jung-hoo’ Kim Min-seok (19, Lotte) recorded a multi-hit game in front of Lee Jung-hoo (25, Kiwoom). The fearless rookie, who is gradually adapting to the professional stage, surpassed the 3% batting average in May.

Kim started the game against Kiwoom at the Gocheok SkyDome on the 26th, batting first in centre field.

In the first inning, Kim struck out on three pitches against Kiwoom’s Hurado. He then struck out swinging on a 148km fastball. In the third inning, he batted on a one-ball and was thrown out at shortstop.

Lotte took the lead in the fifth inning when Park Seung-wook singled with two outs. With two outs, Kim Min-seok took a four-pitch fastball (145km) from Furado on a 1B-2S pitch and flicked it with his wrist with his hips out for a three-run single to left. Even at the tender age of 19, his bat control and hitting skills have been recognised.안전놀이터

Kim Min-seok led off the eighth inning with a double down the left field line off left-hander Kim Jae-woong from 1B-2S. The subsequent batters were stranded on a failed bunt, a fly ball and a ground ball.

After going 2-for-4 on the day, Kim is now 25-for-30 (118 RBI) with one home run, 14 RBI, 19 runs scored and a .644 OPS for the season. With each game, he’s gotten better and better with experience. In April, Kim was 1-for-9 with six RBIs. His OPS was .482.

In May, his numbers improved dramatically, as he went 3-for-6 (19 for 62) with an OPS of .785. In his last 10 games, he’s even better, going 3-for-5. He even had back-to-back three-hit games against Hanwha on the 16th and 18th of this month.

In two months, he’s established himself. As a top-of-the-order hitter, he is most often in the starting lineup. Kim Min-seok, who joined Lotte as the third overall pick in the first round of this year’s rookie draft, has been compared to Lee Jung-hoo, who is six years his senior. Same right-handed bat, same precision hitting.

Last year’s MVP Lee Jung-hoo was unable to get a hit in front of the junior on this day. Lee started at third base and went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. After batting first in May, Lee moved back to third for the first time in 23 games.

Before the game, Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki said, “In the end, Lee Jung-hoo needs to hit in the centre field. If he shows the kind of performance he showed last year, it will give the stagnant batting line-up a boost. He batted first from the start in May, but if he shows his true form in the centre of the order, I think the batting line-up will be energised.”

However, Lee was silent with no hits and his batting average dropped to 2-for-47 (43 runs in 174 balls) for the season. He gradually revived his batting average from 2.01 to 2.08 in April to 2.07 to 2.06 in May, but it’s still not enough.