KIA's 26-year-old successor to the tiger zone grows well

As of the 8th, KIA Tigers outfielder Park Jung-woo (26) is the No. 1 player in the Futures League batting average. Except for the Seosan Hanwha Eagles match on the 9th, Park Jung-woo had 28 hits in 71 times at bat, batting average of 0.394 with 6 RBIs, 17 runs scored, 12 steals, and on-base percentage of 0.483 with a slugging percentage of 0.423 OPS of 0.906.

Park Jung-woo is a left-handed outfielder who graduated from Deoksu High School and joined the team 64th in the second round in 2017. He was also appointed to the primary league intermittently from 2021 to 2023, but failed to find his place. He boasts fast feet and good shoulders, displaying excellent defense and focusing skills. He became the top stealer (32 steals) in the Futures League last year.

However, he had a batting average of 0.217 in the first division and only hit .300 in the Futures League (0.302). Hitting has always been a concern. Rumor has it that he had a lot of worries about his skinny body in the past, and that he followed Park Chan-ho, who was reborn as a top-class shortstop thanks to his strength from skinny body, and worked hard in sports. In fact, he followed Park well during the spring camp in Canberra, Australia, in February.

In January, he practically participated in a mini-camp hosted by Kim Sun-bin, and sweated a lot. It was the spring camp and practice matches that heard Park Jeong-woo have changed. The saying came out, "Playing has changed." He was not wrong.

Park Jung-woo finally opened his eyes to batting in the Futures League this year. Even though it is called the Futures League, it is not easy to create an average of nearly 40 percent. He has been pulling and pushing, resulting in hits. He is the unrivaled No. 1 hitter in both Futures League leagues.

Perhaps it is safe to assume that he is the successor of Kim Ho-ryeong at this point. Kim Ho-ryeong has good focus but has better defense. In terms of defense alone, he is in the top class of 10 clubs. In order to survive in the first division, he has to play the role of Kim Ho-ryeong. He needs to expand his stake.

Unfortunately, Park does not have enough leeway to coexist with Kim Ho-ryeong in the first division. It is unfortunate. The KIA outfield depth is the strongest in the league. If you go to another team, you will have Lee Chang-jin and Ko Jong-wook, who can play as main players, as backup. (Ko Jong-wook played as a leadoff in the match against Hanwha on Tuesday, but he is only a strategic second division member and is a regular member of the first division), but it is not easy for him to enter the first division.

That's why Park needs to bet his life and death on the bat. If he continues to show good performance in the Futures League this year, there is a high possibility that he will get a chance to join the first team later on. In any case, Kia should also prepare for the next generation of Choi Hyung-woo and Na Sung-bum in the long run. Park is seen as a clear driving force for the future as he can become an outfielder, who serves as an offense and defense player who is lacking in Kia.

BY: 스포츠토토핫