"I even summoned a legend, why?" Should KIA's 150km fireballer write the success story of FA compensation player
"I even summoned a legend, why?" Should KIA's 150km fireballer write the success story of FA compensation player
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Kang Hyo-jong (22), dubbed the future of the LG Twins, has been chosen by the Kia Tigers. Will he be able to unleash his full potential and write the legend of a reward player at Kia.
KIA officially announced on the 19th, "We appointed pitcher Kang Hyo-jong as a transfer compensation player for Jang Hyun-sik, who signed an FA contract with LG."
After graduating from Jeodong Elementary School (Ilsan Seo-gu Little), Chungam Middle School, and Chungam High School, Kang Hyo-jong wore the LG Twins uniform as the first designation in 2021. As a right-handed fastball pitcher, it was a highly anticipated starting resource for LG fans. Among the teams in Seoul at the time, Kiwoom nominated Jang Jae-young, who was a pitcher at the time, followed by Doosan's choice of infielder Ahn Jae-seok. After that, it was Kang Hyo-jong who LG nominated.
As soon as Kang joined the team, he began to gain experience in the Futures League. In 2021, he pitched in five games and displayed an earned run average of 8.44 (12 hits, 13 walks, 11 strikeouts and 10 runs) with one loss and one hold without a win. In the 2022 Futures League, he recorded three wins and three losses with an earned run average of 4.68 (24 hits, 23 walks, 26 strikeouts and 18 runs) in eight games. His debut match was made against the NC Dinos on Oct. 7, the last day of the 2022 season. At that time, he displayed good pitching by allowing five hits, four walks, four strikeouts and two runs (two earned runs) in five innings, earning the honor of becoming the winning pitcher of his debut match.
As a result, expectations for the 2023 season grew even higher. Kang began to be called the "future of LG." At the exhibition game that year, Yeom Kyung-yeop, the coach of the team, said, "He has a good balance. Above all, he has a good curve. It reminds me of Lee Dae-jin's past curveball." Lee Dae-jin is a living legend who recorded 100 wins, 74 losses, 22 saves and an ERA of 3.57 during his 20 seasons in the KBO. His curveball completely robbed the opponent of his timing.
"Chances are high that we will grow into right-handed pitchers such as Yoon Seok-min and Bae Young-soo in the future in our team. Now, we need to have a native starter in our team as well. There hasn't been one since Bong Jung-geun," Yeom said, expressing high expectations. Kang started in five games in April alone after the season opened, but had one win and one loss and an earned run average of 5.40 (17 hits, 9 walks, 11 strikeouts, 12 runs) before heading to the second team. Kang, who also experienced poor ball control, stayed in the second team for a long time. In that year, his Futures League record was seven losses and an earned run average of 5.20 (71 hits, 20 walks, 53 strikeouts and 38 runs) without a win in 14 games. He returned to the first team in October and played in two games, but ended the season without being included in the Korean Series entry.
The 2024 season was filled with other players, but LG's starting lineup was filled with other players. Choi Won-tae and Lim Chan-kyu could have left the team due to injuries during the season, but a call-up for the first team rarely took place. In the end, Kang Hyo-jong played only one game this season, and it was his last game against Lotte on May 12 to take the mound in an LG uniform. He started the game at the time, but was shaken by two hits (one homer), three walks, two strikeouts and three runs (three earned runs) in one ⅓ inning, and was substituted early. In this year's Futures League, he recorded one win and three losses with an ERA of 4.78 (39 hits, 28 walks, 35 strikeouts and 26 runs) in 43 ⅓ innings. 먹튀검증
It was called LG's future and received high expectations, so there were many expectations that he would be included in the 25-member protected roster. However, Kang was forced to be excluded as a large number of resources that are receiving higher internal evaluations were added to the protected list. He was also selected by Kia despite the fact that he was about to join the military in Sangmu. Regarding the background of recruiting Kang Hyo-jong, an official of Kia said, "He will join the military in December, and if he grows further while serving in the military in Sangmu (National Military Sports Unit), he will be designated as a compensation player. As he joined the professional league through the first nomination, he highly evaluated his potential for growth. There was no disagreement at the meeting with the coaching staff." Kang will join Sangmu on December 2 and will be discharged from the military in June 2026.
After Kia's nomination, Kang Hyo-jong told Star News, "I feel sorry to leave the team I was attached to. On the other hand, however, I think the Kia Tigers picked me because they liked me. Even though I was going to Sangmu, I think I should repay it accordingly because they selected me. There must be a lot of people who don't know me well yet, but I will come back to Gwangju with a better performance and improved performance in the military. I will do my best at Sangmu so that I can show good performance." Will Kang Hyo-jong be able to burst his potential to his heart's content in two years.