“If he was given the right to participate in the major league draft, Jang Hyun-seok’s talent is at a level where he can be nominated in the second or third round.”메이저놀이터

America’s interest in high school express Jang Hyeon-seok (18, Masan Yongma High School) is hot. Because he is the international prospect chosen by the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the 9th, Rico Sports, Jang Hyun-seok’s agency, announced that ‘Jang Hyun-seok signed a contract with the Major League Dodgers for a down payment of 900,000 dollars (approximately 1.1 billion won)’. It has been 8 days since he gave up applying for the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft on the 1st and declared a major league challenge.

It was meaningful in that the Dodgers were active in recruiting Jang Hyun-seok. The Dodgers did not wait for the international contract money pool to open next year, and promoted a contract with Jang Hyun-seok this year. The Dodgers recently received a dash bonus pool for trading prospects Aldrin Batista and Maximo Martinez to the Chicago White Sox. Since the Dodgers showed such a strong will to defend Jang Hyun-seok, even the US locals are curious about what kind of player he is.

‘Dodger Blue’, which deals with news about the Dodgers, said on the 10th that Jang Hyun-seok has enough talent to be in the 2nd or 3rd round of the major league draft.

Dodger Blue said, ‘Jang Hyun-seok, 19, was the most anticipated player with the first overall pick in the KBO draft to be held next month. However, Jang Hyun-seok decided to take on the challenge to achieve his dream of becoming a major leaguer. He throws a fastball that reaches up to 97 mph (about 156 km), and also throws breaking pitches such as sridder, sweeper, curveball, and changeup,’ he explained.

He continued, “This season, he pitched in 7 games in the high school league and recorded 3 wins, no losses, and an average ERA of 0.33. He gave up 12 walks while striking out 49. He allowed only 1 earned run in 27⅓ innings pitched. Jang Hyun-seok was also named to the Korean baseball team for the Hangzhou Asian Games. At the Asian Games to be held in September, Jang Hyun-seok will be the youngest player on the Korean team and the only amateur player,’ he added.

Jang Hyun-seok also drew attention to whether he could prove the Dodgers’ eyes. The American sports media ‘Sports Illustrated’ said, ‘The Dodgers are very excited to have a talented pitcher who throws an incredible variety of pitches and tops out at 97 mph. Jang Hyun-suk is also excited to show Los Angeles and the rest of the major leagues what he can pitch,’ he said. ‘The Dodgers are a team that has many successful international contract pitchers. Hyunjin Ryu, Kenta Maeda, Hideo Nomo, and Julio Urias are like that. I look forward to Jang Hyun-seok continuing his career similar to them and becoming the next star in the Dodgers starting lineup.”

In Korea, attention is being paid to whether Jang Hyun-seok can go straight to the major leagues after graduating from high school and remain as a successful example. After Park Chan-ho’s successful career with the Dodgers in 1994, the number of high school pitchers directly challenging the major leagues began to increase, but it is true that there were far more failures than successes. It is also true that players who have accumulated enough experience in the KBO league, such as Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Gwang-hyun, and Oh Seung-hwan, have recently shown their presence in the major leagues, and the atmosphere of aiming for a direct major league has faded.

However, Jang Hyun-seok tries to write a success story, leaving many failure cases behind. Shim Jun-seok (19), who was called the biggest player in high school last year, is also taking steps to become a big league pitcher after signing a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I wonder if Jang Hyun-seok will be able to display his full potential and talent in the United States, worthy of being evaluated as the best pitcher in Korea this year, as expected by the United States and Korea.

Through his agency, Jang Hyun-seok said, “It is an honor to join the prestigious Dodgers team. I will work hard to become a better player as much as they chose me.”