"Big luck, opportunity to learn a lot and grow"...Prince of Daejeon, who is one step bigger in Hanwha's strongest starting lineup

"Big luck, opportunity to learn a lot and grow"...Prince of Daejeon, who is one step bigger in Hanwha's strongest starting lineup

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I'm very lucky. I think it's an opportunity to learn more and grow."

The growth clock of Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha Eagles) is running faster. This is why they are with great starters.토토사이트

Moon Dong-ju is a right-handed starter who is drawing much attention as the next ace of the Korean national team as well as Hanwha. After being called by Hanwha as the first overall pick in 2022, he only wrote one win, three losses and two holds with an ERA of 5.65 in 13 games (28.2 innings) that year, but he showed rapid growth in the 2023 season. He played in 23 games (118.2 innings) and recorded eight wins, eight losses and an ERA of 3.72, winning the Rookie of the Year trophy. He also played under the national flag at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).

However, his performance was not good last year. He suffered from poor performance in the beginning of the season. He seemed to rebound in the second half of the season, but was hampered by shoulder pain. As such, Moon will be able to play in 21 games (111.1 innings) in the 2024 season with seven wins, seven losses and an earned run average of 5.17.

Moon, who has been struggling hard, is showing off his good form this year. As of Tuesday, he has posted five wins, two losses and an earned run average of 2.89 in nine games (46.2 innings).

Notably, the match against the Ulsan NC Dinos on Tuesday showed his true value. As a starter, he allowed four hits, two outs and four strikeouts during six innings, spearheading Hanwha's 4-1 victory. He threw a total of 92 pitches, and used fastballs (41 pitches), sliders (24 pitches), folk (13 pitches), curveballs (10 pitches), and two-seam (4 pitches) evenly. The maximum speed of fastballs was measured up to 157 kilometers.

After the game, Moon Dong-joo, whom I met after the game, said, "There are always good and bad times when I play the season, but I pitched on the mound with the idea of doing the best I can. I think I came up with good results because I prepared with positive thoughts," adding, "I've been throwing only at my home stadium recently. I think throwing in a new environment (called Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium) worked well."

"Actually, I didn't even know how time passed today. It feels like I just rushed by. I think the game ended while I was trying to adapt rather than adapting myself (to the new environment). I think it's good for me. It really helped me on the mound that I didn't think much about. I think I think I have a lot of thoughts when something is not good, but when I rode the good flow, it passed really quickly," he added.

In the game, Moon was in danger at the bottom of the third inning. He had consecutive hits to Kwon Hee-dong and Kim Joo-won, facing the first and second bases with one out. Fortunately, he remained firm. He guided Park Min-woo and Park Geon-woo to fly to the left field and shortstop, respectively, and did not lose any points.

Moon Dong-ju said, "I remember Park Gun-woo being strong against me. I think I threw my head a little more alone when the autograph was signed. There were parts I thought of to myself, so (the tempo of the pitching) got longer. But I was able to pass by well because (the catcher) (Choi) Jae-hoon led so well."

The Hanwha Eagles is building the best starting lineup this season. Along with Moon Dong-ju, Cody Ponce (8 wins and 1.48 ERA), Ryan Weiss (6 wins and 2 losses and 3.67 ERA), and Ryu Hyun-jin (4 wins, 2 losses and 3.09 ERA) are showing stellar performance. Eom Sang-baek (1 wins, 4 losses and 6.68 ERA), who is currently in the second division, is clearly a competitive pitcher.

"I'm so lucky (to be able to spend this season with good starting pitchers)," Moon said. "I'm so confident that I can have such a good starting lineup. I think when I'm with these pitchers, I get an opportunity to learn more and grow more. I try to have more conversations. They take good care of me, too. I am always grateful and grateful."

The 2026 World Baseball Classic, the so-called "Baseball World Cup," will take place in March next year. Moon expressed his hope to play in the WBC with many of his Hanwha teammates.

"Actually, I was late to prepare for this season, and it wasn't a good start. I was worried a lot, but I still have anxiety myself. I will prepare to finish the season well. My goal is to finish the season well," he said, adding, "I will think about it after the season, but of course, I have greed for the national team. Our team's players are doing very well, so I hope we can go out a lot and represent the country together."