20-year-old Hwang Jun-seo, a promising left-handed pitcher in his second year with the Hanwha Eagles, missed another chance for his first win of the season but showed potential. He pitched confidently enough to earn the respect of the opposing batter who hit a home run, but one final pitch left him wanting.

On the 1st, Hwang Jun-seo started the away game against the NC Dinos in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Changwon NC Park, recording 5⅔ innings, 4 hits allowed (1 home run), 4 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 6 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs. As Hanwha suffered a 16-5 comeback loss, Hwang took his second loss instead of his first win of the season. His earned run average rose from 3.24 to 5.14.

Although the surface statistics were disappointing, Hwang Jun-seo's overall pitching that day was quite solid. In the first inning, he got Park Min-woo to ground out to first base and struck out Kim Joo-won with his main forkball for the second out, but then issued consecutive walks to Park Gun-woo and Matt Davidson. With two outs and runners on first and second, Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach of Hanwha, came up to the mound, and Hwang managed to strike out the next batter, Kwon Hee-dong, looking. After throwing a ball on the first pitch, he followed with three consecutive fastballs low in the strike zone to freeze Kwon Hee-dong.

In the second inning, he started by walking leadoff batter Kim Hwi-jip. He got Chun Jae-hwan to ground out to third, and struck out Kim Jung-ho swinging with a curve, but gave up a two-run home run to Han Seok-hyun. Han Seok-hyun seemed to target the low fastball clocked at 141 km/h on the second pitch and hit it properly over the right-center field fence. The home run traveled 120 meters, marking Han Seok-hyun's second of the season and the first home run allowed by Hwang Jun-seo this season.

However, he pitched quickly and without allowing runs in the third to fifth innings. In the third inning, he struck out Park Gun-woo with a slow curve that dropped low inside for a strikeout, completing a three-up, three-down inning. In the fourth inning, with the help of left fielder Moon Hyun-bin's great catch, he finished the inning with just 7 pitches. In the fifth, after allowing a leadoff single to Kim Jung-ho, Hwang showed stability by retiring the next three batters with 7 pitches.

In the sixth inning, Hwang Jun-seo took the mound for the first time this season. He struck out Park Gun-woo looking with a fastball that was well inside, then boldly threw a forkball inside that struck out Davidson after an 8-pitch battle. With one out remaining for a quality start, Hwang allowed a double to Kwon Hee-dong down the left-field line before walking Kim Hwi-jip, putting runners on base.

Pitching coach Yang Sang-moon came up to the mound but did not get the ball from the umpire. Without a pitching change, Hwang continued, and after throwing an inside fastball on the first pitch to Chun Jae-hwan, he got a swinging strike on a low outside forkball for a favorable count of two strikes. However, he hit the batter on the third pitch with a fastball that was high and inside. With two outs and the bases loaded, coach Yang Sang-moon returned to the mound and a pitching change took place.

Hwang Jun-seo deeply regretted that one pitch. With a favorable count, his deceptive pitch went too deep, and he left the game without finishing the inning. The next pitcher, Ju Hyun-sang, allowed a go-ahead grand slam home run to pinch hitter Oh Young-soo on his first pitch, turning Hwang's potential win into a loss in an instant. The earned runs ballooned from 2 to 5.

Despite the disappointing results, he threw a total of 92 pitches, reaching a top speed of 147 km/h, with an average of 144 km/h for fastballs (56 pitches) and mixing in forkballs (28 pitches), curves (7 pitches), and sliders (1 pitch). The velocity of his fastballs, which were thrown with a low angle, was good, and both the crucial forkballs and occasionally mixed-in curves were enough to disrupt the timing of the hitters.

Although five walks were disappointing, his pitching was not purely defensive. Han Seok-hyun, who hit a home run off Hwang Jun-seo's low fastball in the second inning, noted, "The pitches were good. In the fifth inning, he threw another fastball. After seeing that, I recognized that he is a player with something special."

Hwang Jun-seo, who was the overall first pick in the first round of last year's rookie draft and joined Hanwha, started this year in the second tier from spring camp. He focused on strength and physical conditioning and prepared to move up to the first team while rotating as a starter in the Futures League.

As Eom Sang-baek moved down to the second tier, Hwang Jun-seo, who was brought up as a replacement starter, made a decent showing in his first outing against NC in Ulsan on the 21st of last month, going 3⅓ innings with 2 hits allowed, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs (1 unearned run). In the game against LG on the 27th, he took a loss but pitched well, going 5 innings with 3 hits allowed, 4 walks, 1 strikeout, and 2 earned runs.

Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon said, "His fastball movement has improved compared to last year. A 144 km/h pitch has as much effectiveness as a 147 km/h pitch at the end. He needs to sharpen his control and ability to manage runners. Coach Yang Sang-moon has been talking a lot to him," and added that he expects growth, calling him "a smart and instinctive player." Despite failing to get through the last challenge in the sixth inning that day, Hwang's fastball strength and presence on the mound reflected Kim's evaluation.

Hanwha began with a five-man rotation featuring Cody Ponce, Ryan Weiss, Ryu Hyun-jin, Eom Sang-baek, and Moon Dong-ju. During the two weeks that Eom Sang-baek was reconditioned in the second tier, Hwang Jun-seo seized three opportunities as a replacement starter and showed growth. It remains to be seen what will happen when Moon Dong-ju returns, but Hanwha confirmed Hwang's potential enough to consider operating a six-man rotation.

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