Jung Woo-young (LG Twins), a former hold king, made an impressive first scoreless appearance on the Futures stage, signaling a rebound.
On the 30th, Jung Woo-young took the mound in the eighth inning as the third pitcher during a home game against the Doosan Bears at Icheon LG Champions Park, leading 4-2. He pitched one inning allowing one hit and no runs. His top speed of the day was 147km, and he threw only two-seam fastballs.
In his previous two Futures appearances, he showed disappointing performance. On March 30 against Hanwha, he pitched one inning allowing three hits and two earned runs, and on April 2 against Doosan, he struggled with two-thirds of an inning allowing four earned runs (none of which were errors). On this day, he allowed a hit to the first batter, Lee Sun-woo, but calmly overcame the threat afterward. After getting Young-gun Yeon out with a fly ball to left field, he allowed a hit-by-pitch to Shin Min-cheol but handled Kim Dae-han's line drive to the shortstop for a double play to end the inning.
In his debut year of 2019, Jung Woo-young recorded 4 wins, 6 losses, 1 save, and 16 holds with an earned run average of 3.72, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He has shown growth each year, leading the league in holds with 35 in 2022, supported by a powerful two-seam fastball that reached a top speed of 157km. However, in 2023, his pitching balance was disrupted, causing a decrease in speed, and he struggled with numerous stolen bases due to weaknesses in his slide step.
Through adjustments in his pitching form, he posted a poor record in 2023 with 60 appearances, 5 wins, 6 losses, 11 holds, and an earned run average of 4.70. Last year, he made 27 appearances, with a record of 2 wins, 1 loss, 3 holds, and an earned run average of 4.76. Jung Woo-young trained privately at his own expense with the Tread Athletics in North Carolina in January. By investing a significant amount in 'tutoring', he raised his arm angle and experienced an increase in speed.
However, during spring training, his pitching balance continued to fluctuate. His fastball speed dropped back to the mid-140km range. He pitched in two spring training games, facing five batters and recording two-thirds of an inning with no hits, three walks, and two wild pitches while remaining scoreless. On March 8 against KT Wiz, he pitched and immediately threw seven consecutive balls, with two wild pitches.
Manager Youm Kyoung-youb consulted with Jung Woo-young and implemented a basic training program on the Futures team to prioritize restoring his pitching balance. The training method followed a weekly schedule based on a basic manual program. He would pitch about once a week while checking the training results and addressing problems.
Jung Woo-young demonstrated the possibility of a rebound with this game. When will his return to the first team be possible? LG fans are focused on this.
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