“The coaches said we had to bring him in.”
Lotte, which was reborn under the management of ‘master’ 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. There are 12 infielders who are expected to face the fiercest competition.
Lotte must immediately fill the vacancy of Ahn Chi-hong, who transferred to free agency, and prepare for the vacancy of Han Dong-hee, who is highly likely to join the Sangmu position in June. As of now, it seems likely that veteran infielders will be used. Recently, Lotte acquired veteran infielder Kim Min-seong through a trade with LG, and he is currently the most likely candidate for the starting second baseman position. Manager Kim Tae-hyung gave a favorable review, saying, “Kim Min-seong had good movement as a second baseman last year as well.”
However, this does not mean that Lotte is only focusing on the ‘present’. We are also looking at the future of Lotte's infield.
The names of two new infielders on Lotte's spring camp list attract attention. The main characters are Jeong Dae-seon and Lee Joo-chan.
Jeong Dae-seon is a second-year infield prospect who joined Lotte last year. Last season, he appeared in 19 games for the first team and had a batting average of .150 (6 hits in 40 at-bats). Although he did not leave an impact in the first team, he appeared in 69 games in the Futures League and showed an impressive figure with a batting average of .287 (68 hits in 237 at-bats), 2 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases. He struck out only 23 times while walking 29 times.
Coach Kim Tae-hyung said about Jeong Dae-seon, "The coaches said they had to bring him to the camp. Actually, personally, I don't like having too many people in the camp. But the coaches want to see him," and explained the reason for including him in the spring camp list. In fact, Jeong Dae-seon was also a player that coach Kim Tae-hyung paid attention to as a resource that could be utilized in the first team during last year's closing training.
Joo-chan Lee is also a promising infield resource that manager Tae-hyung Kim is watching closely. Joo-chan Lee, who joined Lotte as a developing player in 2021, played in 42 games in the Futures League last year and recorded a batting average of .301 (34 hits in 113 at-bats), 3 home runs, 18 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases. In the first team, he appeared in three games in 2021 and recorded no hits in seven at-bats.
So what strengths does director Kim Tae-hyung pay attention to in Lee Joo-chan? Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "He plays a stable defense at shortstop. He has the best throwing ability. He also has very good batting power," and added, "He is a player I am keeping an eye on because he has good abilities."
Even now, Lotte's infield is in the midst of 'picking the rocks', but there is also the task of achieving a generational change in the near future. There are many veteran players, including Kim Min-seong, who was acquired through trade, Noh Jin-hyuk, Park Seung-wook, and Oh Seon-jin.
Coach Kim Tae-hyung said, "There are older players in the infield. Jeong Dae-seon and Joo-chan Lee are the players who should take charge of the infield behind them," and said that they are players who need to be nurtured with an eye on the future. Attention is being paid to whether Lotte's infield prospects, who confidently joined the first-team spring camp, will be able to grow rapidly at the camp.
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