Doosan Bears outfielder Kim Min-seok made a surprise start as a second baseman in the Futures League. Kim, who was an infielder during high school, switched to outfield when he joined the professionals. It appears he is attempting to play both infield and outfield.

Kim Min-seok started as the first second baseman in the match against the NC Dinos in the 2025 Futures League at Icheon Bears Park on the 25th.

Kim Min-seok came to bat as the lead-off hitter in the bottom of the first inning but was out on a ground ball to second base. He came to bat again as the lead-off hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning but was out on a looking strikeout. He was substituted for Lee Seon-woo in the top of the fifth inning and finished the game. Only one ball was hit to him in the second base defense. He made an out by catching Han Jae-hwan's ground ball and throwing it to first base.

On the previous day (the 24th), Kim started as the first first baseman in the match against NC but moved to left field in the middle of the game, continuing to play. From the 20th to the 22nd, he played as a center fielder, left fielder, and primarily as an outfielder in a three-game series against the Goyang Heroes in the Futures League.

Kim Min-seok played as a shortstop during his time at Whimoon High School. While his hitting talent was excellent, his shortstop defense was not at a professional level. Lotte selected Kim Min-seok as the overall third pick in the first round of the 2023 rookie draft. Lotte utilized Kim as a center fielder.

In his debut year in 2023, Kim played in 129 games, achieving a batting average of .255 (102 hits in 400 at-bats), 3 home runs, 39 RBIs, and an OPS of .652. The performance of the 19-year-old rookie, who had just graduated from high school, was commendable. He set the record for the first 100 hits by a high school graduate rookie in Lotte's history. He gained attention as the "next Lee Jung-hoo" as a junior of Lee Jung-hoo.

However, he only appeared in 41 games last year, with a batting average of .211 (16 hits in 76 at-bats) and an OPS of .544. In late November last year, Lotte made a massive trade with Doosan. Lotte agreed to send three players: Kim Min-seok, Choo Jae-hyun, and Choi Woo-in to Doosan, in exchange for pitcher Jeong Cheol-won and infielder Jeon Min-jae.

After the trade, Kim Min-seok performed well in spring camp and exhibition games wearing the Doosan uniform. In 9 exhibition games, he recorded a batting average of .333 (10 hits in 30 at-bats) and an OPS of .800, leading manager Lee Seung-yeop to designate Kim as the leadoff hitter. His primary defensive position was left field.

Kim Min-seok announced his arrival with a spectacular performance in the opening game, recording 2 hits (including 1 triple) in 4 at-bats and 1 walk, but after hitting in four consecutive games, he recorded a batting average of .192 over 8 games in March.

On April 3rd, he was excluded from the first team roster due to a batting average below .100 and returned to the first team on April 20th. However, even after returning, he struggled to regain his hitting form and was sent back to the second team on the 8th. His performance in the first team resulted in a batting average of .212 (11 hits in 52 at-bats) and an OPS of .510 over 21 games.

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