NC Dinos pitcher Koo Chang-mo is smoothly progressing in the Futures League build-up.
On the 4th, Koo Chang-mo took to the mound as a starting pitcher in a game against the LG Twins in the 2025 Futures League at Masan Stadium, throwing 57 pitches over 4 innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and recording 1 strikeout and 2 earned runs. His maximum fastball speed reached 144 km/h.
The first inning was tough. Koo Chang-mo gave up a hit to lead-off batter Son Yong-jun, who hit the ball off the third baseman's glove. He then allowed Lee Young-bin to reach base on a hit by pitch.
With no outs and runners on 1st and 2nd, Koo Chang-mo got Kim Min-soo out on a ground ball to the shortstop, but the runners advanced to 3rd and 2nd. He allowed the first run on a sacrifice fly to left field by Song Chan-ui. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, he gave up a double along the right field line to Kim Sung-jin, allowing the second run to score. He ended the inning by striking out Kwak Min-ho on three pitches.
He found stability starting in the 2nd inning. He got lead-off batter Park Min-ho out on a foul fly to the third baseman, and Kwon Dong-hyuk was handled on a ground ball to the second baseman. After getting 2 outs, he allowed a triple to Choi Seung-min to the gap in right center. However, he prevented a run from scoring when he got Son Yong-jun out on a ground ball to the second baseman with 2 outs and a runner on 3rd.
In the 3rd, he got lead-off batter Lee Young-bin out on a ground ball to the first baseman and then allowed Kim Min-soo to reach on a hit by pitch. With 1 out and a runner on 1st, he ended the inning by getting Song Chan-ui out on a ground ball double play to the second baseman.
In the 4th, he got lead-off batter Kim Sung-jin out on a ground ball to the shortstop and allowed a hit to Kwak Min-ho. With Park Min-ho at bat, he quickly tagged out the runner on 1st base with a pickoff throw. He ended the inning by getting Park Min-ho out on a pop-up to the first baseman.
In the bottom of the 3rd, NC tied the game 2-2 when Park Se-hyuk hit a timely single to right field with 1 out and the bases loaded. With 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, a wild pitch by the pitcher allowed the runner on 3rd to score, giving NC a 3-2 lead. In the 5th, Park Si-won hit a solo home run, and in the 7th, with 1 out and a runner on 3rd, Kim Dong-hyun's timely hit added another run to secure a 5-2 victory.
Koo Chang-mo, who was discharged from the Military Police in mid-June, is in the build-up process. He did not pitch in actual games for about 2 months due to a minor injury he sustained on his chest and shoulder when he was hit by a batted ball during a game against Samsung in early April while serving in the Military Police. He pitched only 1 inning in 1 game right before his discharge.
After returning to NC, Koo Chang-mo took the mound as a starting pitcher in a game against the Military Police on June 28, throwing 50 pitches over 3 innings without giving up any runs. After resting for 5 days, he increased his pitch count to 57 in his second game. He needs to gradually increase his pitch count to throw at least 90 pitches over 5 innings as a starting pitcher.
Manager Lee Ho-jun has left Koo Chang-mo's return to the first team entirely up to the player. He noted that since Koo Chang-mo's discharge, he has told him, 'You decide when to return to the first team. If I hear that you're 'ready,' I will consider promoting you.'
If a healthy Koo Chang-mo joins as a starting pitcher, he could be a significant asset in the competition for rankings. Koo Chang-mo was a key player in NC's first integrated championship in 2020, dominating the league with a record of 9 wins, no losses, and 1 hold, boasting an earned run average of 1.74 over 15 games (93⅓ innings). He contributed to the championship by performing admirably in the Korean Series, with a record of 1 win, 1 loss, and an earned run average of 1.38 over 2 games (13 innings).
After undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in his forearm in 2021, Koo Chang-mo rested for a year but performed as the ace in 2022, recording 11 wins and 5 losses with an earned run average of 2.10 over 19 games. In 2023, he was unable to play many games again due to another stress fracture injury, recording 1 win and 3 losses with an earned run average of 2.96 over 11 games, and he underwent surgery again. He enlisted in the Military Police in December 2023 and returned to the team in mid-June after completing his military service.
After the 2022 season, NC signed Koo Chang-mo to a multi-year deal. The contract terms are for 6+1 years from 2023 to 2029, with a guaranteed salary of 8.8 billion won, and the contract could become worth up to 13.2 billion won with incentives and fulfillment of the 7th year.
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