Lotte Giants pitcher Jung Hyun-soo has already made his 20th appearance of the season before the end of April. At this pace, it is theoretically possible for him to appear in 103 games.

Jung Hyun-soo recorded one inning with no hits and no earned runs in a game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on the 25th.

Lotte brought in veteran right-hander Kim Sang-soo as a relief pitcher following starter Davidson in the bottom of the 7th inning, leading 5-2. Kim Sang-soo caught Park Ji-hoon's fly ball for the out and was replaced. Recognizing the left-handed batters Jo Su-hyung and Jeong Soo-bin, Jung Hyun-soo took the mound. He struck out Jo Su-hyung and ended the inning with Jeong Soo-bin grounding to the shortstop, thanks to a great defensive play by shortstop Jeon Min-jae.

Lotte added 3 points in the 8th inning thanks to 2 errors by the Doosan infielders, extending their lead to 8-2. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Jung Hyun-soo recorded an out against leadoff hitter Cave with a fly ball to shortstop. Having struck out all three left-handed batters, Jung Hyun-soo completed his task and was replaced by Kim Kang-hyun.

Jung Hyun-soo has made appearances in 20 games. This accounts for 71% attendance across the 28 games Lotte has played. He ranks first in the league for most appearances by a pitcher. Kim Min-su and Son Dong-hyun of KT, along with Kim Sang-soo of Lotte, share second place with 16 appearances. Jung Hyun-soo has pitched 12⅓ innings with 9 hits allowed, 7 walks, and 17 strikeouts, achieving an earned run average of 2.19. Manager Kim Tae-hyung is likely to call upon Jung Hyun-soo whenever there are left-handed batters to face.

Primarily appearing as a specialist against left-handed batters, he has limited the left-handed opponents' batting average to .176 (6 hits in 34 at-bats). The opponents' batting average is .400, with an OPS of .785. Each team has a high proportion of excellent left-handed batters. Last year, Lotte lacked a notable left-handed pitcher in the bullpen.

Rookie manager Lee Ho-jun of NC noted he realized something from observing Lotte's bullpen management. He said, "Recently, I happened to see on TV that Lotte has a lot of consecutive appearances and many three-game appearances. I believe there is definitely a reason why a much more experienced manager than I does it that way, and I understand why. We haven't had any three-game appearances yet, and we are cautiously managing pitch counts for two-game appearances, but we are considering changing our approach a bit. I might take some risks when necessary."

Jung Hyun-soo, a graduate of Busan High School and Songwon University, was drafted by Lotte in the 2nd round as the 13th pick in the 2024 rookie draft. He gained attention by appearing in the baseball reality show "Choi Kang Baseball."

Recording 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 hold with an earned run average of 4.56 over 18 games last year, Jung Hyun-soo was dispatched to Lotte’s Japanese sister team, Chiba Lotte Marines, for training at the first team’s closing camp last November. He has been achieving good results this year with noticeably improved performance on the mound.

The record for most appearances in a single season is held by Ryu Taek-hyun with 85 games (50⅔ innings) in 2004 and Jeong Woo-ram with 85 games (77⅔ innings) in 2008. Will Jung Hyun-soo be able to pitch close to this record this year?

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