Professional baseball player Jeon Min-jae of the Lotte Giants ranked first in the fan vote, but unfortunately missed out on winning the monthly MVP due to the press vote.

The KBO announced on the 8th, "Hanwha's Ponce has been selected as the monthly MVP for the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League for March and April." Ponce received 25 out of a total of 35 votes (71.4%) in the press vote and scored a total of 41.97 points, with 38,934 votes out of 311,318 in the fan vote (12.5%).

Jeon Min-jae received 116,390 votes (37.4%) in the fan vote, placing him in a commanding first place. However, he only received 2 votes in the press vote, finishing second with a total of 21.55 points behind Ponce.

Jeon Min-jae was drafted by Doosan as the 40th overall pick in the 4th round of the 2018 Rookie Draft. By 2023, he had appeared in only 77 games. Last year, his opportunities increased as a backup infielder, recording a batting average of .246 over 100 games (248 at-bats, 61 hits), with 2 home runs and 32 RBIs. It was a career-high season.

Last winter marked a turning point. Lotte executed a trade with Doosan in November, sending Kim Min-seok, Choo Jae-hyun, and Choi Woo-in in exchange for Jung Cheol-won and Jeon Min-jae, with Kim Min-seok being drafted 3rd overall in the first round of the 2023 draft and Jung Cheol-won winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2022.

However, Jeon Min-jae made a surprise impact at the beginning of the season while wearing the Lotte uniform. Due to the poor performance and injuries of No Jin-hyuk and Park Seung-wook, he filled the shortstop position. His defensive skills honed as a backup during his time at Doosan, combined with his impressive batting, shone through. Jeon Min-jae had an explosive batting average of .423 in April, claiming the No. 1 monthly batting average for April, with an average of .387 for March and April, ranking second in the league. The trade became a life-changing event.

On April 29, Jeon Min-jae collapsed after being hit by a pitch in the helmet and face during the game against Kiwoom. Fortunately, he avoided any serious injuries, although he was diagnosed with right ocular anterior hemorrhage, requiring a week of rest. A week has passed, and Jeon Min-jae received a re-examination on the 8th. The Lotte team reported, "The ophthalmologic examination showed no abnormalities. He will undergo technical training in the Futures league starting on the 9th and participate in Futures games to regain his game sense."

However, Jeon Min-jae could not surpass the impressive detailed stats of Ponce, who led Hanwha's rise. Ponce recorded 5 wins and no losses in 7 starts during March and April, ranking second in total wins. He also topped the strikeouts category with 61 strikeouts.

Hanwha recorded 6 wins and 1 loss in the 7 games that Ponce started during March and April. As of the 7th, Ponce has recorded 66 strikeouts, showing a pace of 8.25 strikeouts per game. If he maintains his current pace through the end of the season, he could challenge for the all-time single-season strikeout record of 225, set by Miranda of Doosan in 2021.

Ponce is the first monthly MVP winner for Hanwha since Roh Si-hwan in July 2023. It is the first monthly MVP award for a Hanwha pitcher since Jung Woo-ram in May 2018, nearly 7 years ago. Additionally, he is the first foreign pitcher from Hanwha to win the monthly MVP award. Selected as the MVP for March and April, Ponce will receive a cash prize of 3 million won and a trophy.

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