Chungchung High School senior ace Moon Seo-jun (18) expressed confidence in bouncing back for the remainder of the season.
Moon Seo-jun participated as a high school All-Star in the '3rd Hanwha Eagles Cup high school vs. college All-Star Game' held on June 2 at Daejeon Hanwha Life Eagles Park, recording ⅔ innings with 1 walk and no runs. His fastball reached a top speed of 151 km/h, marking the second-fastest pitch of the day.
Moon Seo-jun, evaluated as one of the top three prospects for the 2026 rookie draft alongside Park Jun-hyun (Cheonan Buk-il High School) and Yang Woo-jin (Gyeonggi Aviation High School), is garnering much attention with his tall stature of 196 cm and fastball exceeding 150 km/h. His fastball, which comes from a high release point, combined with a curveball that drops sharply, is considered powerful.
In a pre-game interview, Moon Seo-jun said, "When I was a freshman, the seniors, including (Hwang) Jun-seo, participated, and since then, I have thought I really wanted to play. I am really glad to be able to participate in the All-Star Game this year. As I have been selected as an All-Star, I want to show a perfect performance."
Moon Seo-jun, who has a career record of 20 games (49⅓ innings) with 3 wins and 2 losses and an earned run average of 2.55, has experienced some ups and downs this year. He has recorded 2 losses and an earned run average of 5.59 over 6 games (9⅔ innings). While he has a high strikeout count of 9, he also issued 9 walks and hit 3 batters.
Moon Seo-jun explained the reasons for his struggles this season, saying, "There were many changes in my pitching form this year. Although I wasn't feeling unwell, my condition seems to have not improved much. I now think I am much better. I am confident that I can bounce back starting today." He added, "During the offseason, I bulked up a lot, and wanting to pitch better, I made changes to my pitching form to utilize my lower body more effectively. It wasn't unhelpful, but it seems to have taken some time to adapt."
Moon Seo-jun, who said, "I originally did track and field until the 3rd grade of elementary school, but I started playing baseball in 5th grade," continued, "At first, I played various positions, but starting from the end of my 1st year of high school, I only became a pitcher. I grew about 20 cm during middle school."
When asked to introduce his strengths, Moon Seo-jun replied, "I throw fastballs, cutters, two-seamers, changeups, and sweepers. This year, my fastball reached a top speed of 153 km/h. Overall, it seems better compared to last year. The pitches I am most confident with are the fastball and changeup." He also revealed his role models, saying, "I like Yu Darvish (San Diego) and in Korea, I admire senior Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom)."
Considered to have the best physique and greatest potential among this year's promising players, Moon Seo-jun aims to show improvement during the remainder of the season and to be selected high in the rookie draft. Fans are eagerly anticipating how Moon Seo-jun will perform in the remaining season.
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