The decline in the batting pace of the star of the blockbuster trade is concerning. At the season opener, he was expected to be the lead-off for the Doosan Bears, but recently, he has gone five consecutive games without a hit, raising red flags not just for being a starter but even for survival in the first team.

Professional baseball player Kim Min-seok of the Doosan Bears started as the No. 7 left fielder in the first matchup of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes on April 2 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, finishing the game with four at-bats and no hits, along with one strikeout.

In the bottom of the second inning, with no runners on and the score 1-0, Kim Min-seok grounded out to the first baseman. In the bottom of the fourth inning, falling behind 1-3, he came to the plate as the lead-off hitter and struck out swinging against rookie pitcher Yoon Hyun. He failed to hit a fastball that had come down the middle after a seven-pitch battle.

With the score tied 3-3 in the fifth inning and no outs with a runner on first base, Kim Min-seok hit the first pitch from Oh Seok-joo for a pop-up to left field. In the still-tied situation of the seventh inning with one out and no runners, he faced Kim Seon-ki and grounded out to the first baseman.

Kim Min-seok was substituted for a defensive replacement at the start of the eighth inning, sadly ending his game. His season batting average dropped from .192 to .167. Why has Kim Min-seok's regular season batting average plummeted from the impressive performances in spring training?

Kim Min-seok is a left fielder who was selected as the third pick in the first round of the 2023 rookie draft by the Lotte Giants. In his debut year, he proved his competitiveness in the first team with a batting average of .255, 102 hits, three home runs, 39 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 129 games. He was selected as one of the top 12 KBO All-Stars for high school graduates, the fourth in history, amid enthusiastic support from Lotte fans. Kim Min-seok achieved 100 hits in his debut season, becoming the eighth high school graduate in KBO history to reach this milestone.

Last season, he suffered through a severe second-year jinx, finishing with a batting average of .211 and only six RBIs in 41 games. He was classified as outside the main roster of manager Kim Tae-hyung’s team, leading to significant time spent in the minors, and in a blockbuster trade between Doosan and Lotte last November, he moved from Lotte to Doosan. Doosan, hoping that Kim Min-seok, who was called the second Lee Jung-hoo during his time at Whimoon High School, can become the second Jung Soo-bin wearing the Bears uniform, made a bold exchange.

In the offseason, Kim Min-seok's hitting was phenomenal. After winning MVP at the Miyazaki second spring camp in Japan, he continued the momentum in the exhibition games, recording a batting average of .333 (10 hits in 30 at-bats), four RBIs, and four runs in nine games, with a slugging percentage of .400 and an on-base percentage of .400. He took on the lead-off position previously held by Jung Soo-bin and passed the test in one shot, securing a spot in the opening roster and starting lead-off.

The start was promising. He hit a triple and recorded two hits and two RBIs in four at-bats in the opening game, followed by a streak of hits over the first four games until March 26 against the Suwon KT Wiz. However, following the hit in his first at-bat that day, things took a turn for the worse starting from his second at-bat, where he grounded out to second base. His batting pace deteriorated rapidly, leading to a slump of 15 at-bats without a hit, and he has failed to record a hit in his last five games.

Doosan has faced a gap as foreign hitter Jake Cave, responsible for one of the outfield positions, has been removed from the roster due to illness. In response, Choo Jae-hyun was called up to the first team and recorded one hit and one walk in three at-bats the previous day, but just one player like Choo Jae-hyun is insufficient to fill the vacancy. If Kim Jae-hwan takes the designated hitter position, new blood is needed in the two outfield spots aside from Jung Soo-bin, so Kim Min-seok needs to regain his early-season form as soon as possible.

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