SSG Landers' last first-round draft prospect Yun Tae-hyun (22) expressed his determination to forget the past and start anew.
Yun Tae-hyun is a right-handed sidearm pitcher who joined SSG as the first overall pick in the 2022 rookie draft. The 2022 rookie draft was the last year the first overall pick system was implemented, making Yun Tae-hyun SSG's final first-round draft prospect. He was expected to pitch at high speeds in the upper 140 km/h range, but he did not immediately show performance in the first team. He recorded an earned run average (ERA) of 9.00 over three games (2 innings) in the KBO League. In the Futures League, he also had a poor record with 1 win, 2 losses, and 1 hold, posting an ERA of 8.73 over 18 games (33 innings).
Yun Tae-hyun, who has not fully realized his potential, enlisted for active duty in November 2023. He fulfilled his military duty in a front-line reconnaissance unit and was discharged last May. Back with the team, Yun Tae-hyun is preparing to return to the mound with a fresh mindset.
"I was discharged safely without incident," Yun Tae-hyun said. "I was worried about how it would be if everyone couldn't pitch after enlisting, but I actually had a goal to start from scratch and build everything again after returning to zero after my military service. So I wasn’t overly concerned about not being able to throw. I thought about really preparing my body, so I gained a lot of weight and focused on weight training to build strength," he noted. He added, "The reconnaissance unit is truly a unit where physical strength is vital. The physical training room was much better than in other units, which was nice. Plus, my military peers were also friends who were very interested in health and fitness, so we worked out together and bulked up during our service."
Yun Tae-hyun has yet to make an actual game appearance since his discharge. "I am preparing my body according to the program set by the team. I haven't thrown the ball yet," Yun Tae-hyun explained. "I also didn’t throw while I was at the unit. The last time I went on leave, I threw the ball a bit at senior Kim Tae-hoon's lesson venue, and that was all. If I throw the ball right away, I might get overly excited and overdo it, risking injury. To prevent that, I've decided not to throw for six weeks. I want to prepare my body during this time, focusing heavily on weight training, and when I see results, I think I'll start throwing the ball then."
Before enlisting, Yun Tae-hyun struggled with his velocity dropping to the 130 km/h range and had difficulty finding his pitching balance. Yun Tae-hyun said, "Before my enlistment, my velocity fell to the low to mid-130 km/h range. My balance was completely gone, and I was mentally struggling. There were many parts where I felt unstable mentally. I think that insecurity affected my performance in games. The bad form became second nature to my body, and my performance dropped significantly. I think I have recovered from those aspects during my military service." He added, "The last time I threw the ball at senior Kim Tae-hoon's lesson venue, I reached speeds of up to 143 km/h. It's hopeful to see this level of velocity before really starting to throw. I want to raise my speed to 150 km/h in the future."
Yun Tae-hyun was nicknamed the "Incheon nuclear submarine" due to his nearly underhand pitching style. However, he explained, "I'm originally a sidearm pitcher. But as I started to struggle, my arm dropped unintentionally, and I began to throw like an underhand pitcher. If you look at my form from when I did well in high school or early in my professional career, it’s closer to sidearm than underhand. So I'm thinking of trying to find that form from back then."
"My biggest goal is to raise my velocity since I enlisted in a state of having dropped significantly," Yun Tae-hyun stated while outlining his goals. "I also think I didn’t have a clear breaking ball, so I plan to focus on practicing breaking pitches while discussing with the coaches. I’ve thrown sliders and changeups, but I don’t feel that I have perfected them yet. I want to perfect those two pitches and then practice other pitches."
It has been four years since he was selected as the first overall pick in 2021. Reflecting on the past seasons, Yun Tae-hyun expressed, "Looking back at the previous seasons, I have many regrets. Many people helped me, but in comparison to that support, the results were not good, and I ended the season poorly before enlisting. I feel a deep sense of remorse. I wonder if I should have worked harder. I will train with all my might to achieve peak condition. My goal is to show the pitching that fans want. I consider the first overall pick to be in the past now. The future is much more important, so I need to set that mindset aside and prepare more carefully for what lies ahead."
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