Generation MZ doesn’t hide their emotions. KIA’s 19-year-old Yoon Young-chul is no exception.
When he was hit with a home run by an opposing batter, he fell to the ground in disbelief, then turned around and covered his face with his glove.
When his teammate hit a home run, he greeted him with a big hug and shared his joy.
Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) KIA’s “express rookie” Yoon Young-chul recorded his first Quality Start (QS) by shutting down the Hanwha batting lineup.
Kia earned a 4-2 victory over Hanwha on Thursday at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon. The victory came a day after the team was swept by the Eagles’ explosive bats the day before.
Yoon pitched six innings of three-hit ball, giving up one run on three hits (one home run) with three walks and three strikeouts.
Yoon shut down the Hanwha bats with his fastball (44 pitches), which averaged 140 kilometers per hour, mixed with his changeup, slider (20+) and curveball (2).
Yoon Young-cheol, a former Chungam Go Aces player, was selected by KIA with the second pick of the first round in the 2023 rookie draft. Even before joining the team, he gained attention for his performance on the entertainment program “Strongest Baseball 안전놀이터.
On this day, Yoon increased the speed of his fastball to 140 kilometers per hour. He has been compared to super rookies Moon Dong-joo and Kim Seo-hyun, whose fastballs reach only 137 kilometers per hour, but he has his own strengths.
It is his excellent control. The Hanwha bats were unable to capitalize on Yoon’s pitching, which added a sense of security to his seventh appearance since his debut.
Kia manager Kim Jong-kook said, “Yoon did his job very well. His vertical movement has improved since the last time he pitched against Samsung, and I could feel the power on the tip of the ball. He seems to have gained a lot of confidence in his fastball.”