In the new season, there will be a big change in the outfield of the Samsung Lions. Center fielder Kim Hyun-joon will move to right field, and Kim Sung-yoon will take over as the main center fielder. Koo Ja-wook, who moved to left field at the end of last season, will also take over the left corner outfield this season.
The growth of Kim Sung-yoon in the last season greatly influenced the change of Samsung in the new season. Having been playing backup as a rising star since his debut in 2017, he reclaimed his position as a key outfielder with a batting average of 0.352, 62 hits, 21 RBIs and 14 steals in 49 games in the second half of last year.
With the addition of Kim Sung-yoon, Samsung’s outfielders have become saturated. Having also parted ways with Jose Pirella, the former left fielder, Samsung now has a new outfield lineup that will lead to Kim Sung-yoon, Koo Ja-wook, and Kim Hyun-joon.
Samsung has also changed their positions. Kim Hyun-joon, former center fielder, will move to right field, while Kim Sung-yoon will take over. Koo Ja-wook, who moved from right field to left field at the end of last season, will play in left field again in the new season.
Kim Hyun-joon has been a well-established player in center field since last year, while Kim Sung-yoon has displayed good pitching capabilities in right field with strong shoulders. The same applies to Koo Ja-wook. He looks okay without changing his position, but why did Samsung make such a change ahead of the new season.
Samsung manager Park Jin-man explained that he made the change to maximize players’ strengths. “Kim Sung-yoon is fast and has good defense capabilities, but right fielders have a narrower field of defense than center fielders. We moved to center field to make good use of Kim’s flagship and defense capabilities,” Park said.
“We moved Kim to right field to reduce the burden on his defense and strengthen his offense,” he said. “There is a rumor that Kim Hyun-joon has weak shoulders, but that is definitely not the case. That’s how he looks, but the actual ball is strong. He does not have weak shoulders.”
Koo paid attention to physical fitness arrangements. Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Samsung’s home stadium, is far from right field as it has a home dugout near the third base. “It may seem like it’s not a big deal, but it takes a lot of physical strength to get to right field from the dugout at third base,” manager Park Jin-man said. “I also want to focus on my offense by reducing physical fitness arrangements and defense burden.”
Not only the outfield, but also the infield is expected to change. Manager Park Jin-man said he will use new foreign hitter David McKinnon as the main third baseman. Oh Jae-il, who has reduced his batting stress due to the ban on defensive shifts, will take over as the main first baseman. Kim Young-woong, Kang Han-ul and Kim Dong-jin will compete for the starting lineup in shortstop position, where Lee Jae-hyun, the previous main resource, is away due to a shoulder injury.
As it is early days of the camp, there is no specific order for batting order. However, manager Park Jin-man said, “We are planning to keep only Kim Sung-yoon, Koo Ja-wook, and McKinnon as fixed, and change the rest of the batting order depending on the starting position.” Regarding the leadoff, he explained, “Kim Ji-chan showed good performance last year, and Ryu Ji-hyuk, the main resource, is also available as the first player, so he has a wide range of applications.”
BY: 스포츠토토