Won-Tae Choi (26-LG Twins) has been designated for assignment after looking exactly like he was expected to.
Won-tae Choi started the game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, and threw six innings of two-hit, five-strikeout ball.
On the 29th, Choi made a big change. He switched uniforms from the Kiwoom Heroes to LG via trade.
After joining Nexen (now Kiwoom) as a first-round pick in 2015, Choi established himself as a “right-handed ace” with double-digit wins from 2017 to 2019. He slumped somewhat in the following three years, but this season he went 6-4 with a 3.25 ERA in 17 games.
With LG in first place this season, they needed to bolster their domestic starting pitching, so they made a trade with Kiwoom, who were ranked ninth and needed to “prepare for the future. LG received Choi Won-tae, promising infielder Lee Ju-hyung, pitcher Kim Dong-gyu, and a first-round pick in the 2024 KBO Draft. Both Lee and Kim are “core prospects” in the upper rounds. Lee was selected by LG in the second round (12th overall) in 2020 and Kim in the second round (17th overall) in 2023.
Choi Won-tae, who was scheduled to start for Kiwoom on the 29th, took the mound in an LG uniform on the 30th.
Ahead of the game against Doosan on the 30th, LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop said, “(Choi) Won-tae has a way of breaking down at a moment’s notice. There were times when he gave up a lot of runs in one inning because he was trying not to give up runs.” “LG is different, so throw as if you’re going to give up three runs. I told them to change their thinking because it can be better if they think they’re going to give up three runs instead of throwing to give up no runs.”
He continued, “I think we can win more games in the second half than the first half, even though there are fewer games. I think we can win six or seven games if we do our job.” 먹튀검증
Choi Won-tae’s first game proved that Yeom’s words were not empty. The right-hander topped out at 149 mph and mixed in a slider (28 pitches), changeup (10), curveball (6) and sinker (6).
He gave up the first hit to Kang Seung-ho, but struck out Yang Chan-yeol to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, he faced his first crisis when Kim Tae-geun doubled with one out, but he struck out Jung Soo-bin and Heo Kyung-min to end the inning.
The batting lineup celebrated Choi Won-tae’s LG debut in a big way. They scored eight runs in the third inning and added a run each in the fifth and sixth innings to reach 10 runs.
By the sixth inning, Choi had thrown 65 pitches. LG had no reason to push him. In the seventh inning, they brought up Baek Seung-hyun to finish Choi’s job.