“The coaches told me that I have to take him”
Lotte, which has been reborn as a “master” coach Kim Tae-hyung, has been holding a spring camp in Guam since the 1st. A total of 43 players joined Lotte’s spring camp this year. Twelve infielders are expected to compete the most.
Lotte should immediately fill the vacancy of An Chi-hong, who moved to FA, and also prepare for the vacancy of Han Dong-hee, who is highly likely to join the military in June. For now, chances are high that it will recruit veteran infielders. Recently, Lotte recruited veteran infielder Kim Min-sung through a trade with LG, and he is currently the most likely candidate for the second base. Manager Kim Tae-hyung praised Kim Min-sung, saying, “He also showed good movement as a second baseman last year.”
However, this does not mean that Lotte is only focusing on the “present.” It is also looking at the future of Lotte’s infielders.
Lotte’s spring camp list is notable for the names of two new infielders. Jung Dae-sun and Lee Joo-chan are the main characters.
Jeong is a second-year infield prospect who joined Lotte last year, and played in 19 games in the first division last season, recording a batting average of .150 (six hits in 40 times at bat). Although he failed to make an impact in the first division, he displayed impressive performance in 69 games with a batting average of .287 (68 hits in 237 times at bat) with two homers, 32 RBIs and eight steals in the Futures League. While trying to garner 29 walks, he struck out only 23 times.
“Coaches told me that I have to take him to the camp,” coach Kim Tae-hyung said of Chung, explaining why he was included in the camp list by saying, “Personally, I don’t really like having too many players in the camp. But coaches miss him.” Chung also paid attention to Chung as a resource that he could use in the first team during last year’s wrap-up training.
Lee Ju-chan is also an infield promising player that manager Kim Tae-hyung is closely watching. Lee Ju-chan, who joined Lotte as a fostering player in 2021, played in 42 games in the Futures League last year and recorded .301 (34 hits in 113 times at bat) with three homers, 18 RBIs and five stolen bases. In the first division, he played three games in 2021 and recorded no hit in seven times at bat.
Then, what merits of Lee Ju-chan are Kim Tae-hyung keeping an eye on? “He defended stably at the position of shortstop. He is the player with the best throwing capability. He is also very powerful in batting,” manager Kim Tae-hyung said. “I am keeping an eye on Lee because I am good at hitting.”
Lotte’s infielders are still in full swing, but they also face a task that requires generational change in the near future. Veteran players including Kim Min-sung, who was hired through trade, Noh Jin-hyuk, Park Seung-wook and Oh Sun-jin are lined up. 꽁머니
“There are old players in the infield. Jung Dae-sun and Lee Ju-chan should be in charge of the infield behind them,” manager Kim Tae-hyung said. Attention is focusing on whether Lotte’s promising infielders, who proudly joined the spring camp for the main league, will be able to grow further in the camp.