Ahead of the 2022 KBO draft, the KIA Tigers are happy but in trouble. This is because in the draft of that year, which was the last year that the regional primary nomination could be exercised, the KIA farm had the best high school pitcher and the best hitter at the same time. They were Gwangju Jinheung High School pitcher Moon Dong-ju and Gwangju Dongseong High School shortstop Kim Do-young.
KIA chose ‘Best Hitter’ Kim Do-Young after a lot of hard work, and Hanwha Eagles, who were able to make a national nomination at the time, nominated ‘Best Pitcher’ Moon Dong-Ju without delay. That year, Moon Dong-joo and Kim Do-yeong won 400 million won and 1st and 2nd respectively, respectively.
■ The biggest Tuta word from a university…
A similar situation occurred in the US Major League (MLB) with a 164 km pitcher vs. a hitter with 75 consecutive games . The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have the first overall pick in this year’s rookie draft, are struggling with who to pick between the best pitcher and the best hitter in the college.
Right-hander Paul Skins (21) and outfielder Dylan Cruz (21). Born in 2001, the two players are regarded as the best pitching prospects in this draft.
In particular, they are all affiliated with LSU (Louisiana State University). Just as Korea’s largest tuta fish in 2021 came from Gwangju Farm, this year’s largest tuta fish in the United States appeared in one place at LSU.
With both of these players, LSU won the NCAA (American Collegiate Sports Association)’s College Baseball World Series this year.
LSU’s 1st pick, Skins, is 198cm tall and 106kg tall, and his great stuff is his strength. He broke the NCAA Southeastern Conference’s existing record (202) this season as he struck out 209 while pitching 122.2 innings. His K/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings) is 15.3.
He throws an average velocity of 98 miles (157.7 km / h) and a maximum of 102 miles (164.1 km / h). 80 points). The second pitch and slider that goes up to 89 mph was also highly rated, with a score of 70.
All detailed indicators such as WHIP (on-base per inning) of 0.75, ERA (ERA) of 1.69, and batting average (0.165) are also overwhelming, making him the best pitcher in this year’s draft with no room for disagreement.
Boasting a body of 183 cm and 92 kg, center fielder Cruz is evaluated as an all-time great hitter. He ‘bombed’ the college league this season, as evidenced by his 18 home runs, .426 batting average, .567 on-base percentage, .713 slugging percentage, and 1.280 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) in 344 plate appearances. He didn’t just do well this year, he’s done similarly three years in a row. He, in particular, also set a phenomenal record of 75 hitting streaks.
He’s also fairly quick on his feet this season, with six attempts to steal them all.
On the ’20-80 scale’, he is rated as a typical 5-tool player, with 70 hitting, 60 power, 60 running base, 55 shoulder, and 55 defense, and a very large 5-tool player.
■ Skins or Cruz… The MLB draft will start on the 9th,
local time. There’s only one week left.
Locally, no matter which player it is, it is expected that both Skins and Cruz will be nominated within the second overall pick. In fact, Skins is ranked #1 in the 2023 draft and Cruz is #2.
Putting together local reports, it seems that Pittsburgh’s eyes are now on Skins rather than Cruz. That’s because Cruz is known to be asking for a larger down payment than Pittsburgh thinks. As Pittsburgh doesn’t want to spend more money, the prospect is that the Skins are more likely than the Cruzes.
When you’re drafting and you’re just picking the best players, you might ask, what does signing money have to do with it? These choices stem from the unusual structure of the MLB Draft.
■ MLB Draft, where slot money distribution is important
In the MLB Draft, you can’t spend money indefinitely, but the amount of money you can spend is fixed. This year, the overall first-place team will receive $9.72 million in slot money, the second-place team will receive $8.99 million, and the third-place $8.34 million. The team with the 30th overall pick will receive only $2.73 million.
All teams must sign the players they nominate within their respective allocated slot money. Total slot money in Pittsburgh this year is $16.18 million. If you used all of the $9.72 million in first place slot money to sign Cruz, you would have to sign the remaining 19 players with only $6.46 million.
This increases the chances of failing to sign players with decent skills in the upper rounds, rounds 2-5. In fact, it’s also a common occurrence for major league teams that run out of slot money to fail to sign the players they draft. In order to sign contracts with a large number of players with excellent growth potential, you cannot help but consider slot money.
Pittsburgh has been implementing an ‘underslot’ strategy in recent years where the first pick is lower than the slot money. Pittsburgh, which had the right to pick first overall in the 2021 draft, signed catcher Henry Davis (who was not mentioned as first pick) for $6.5 million. At that time, the overall first pick slot money was $8.4 million. was ranked 5th in the draft.The
Texas Rangers, who had the second pick that year, selected Jack Reiter, who was regarded as the best pitcher, for a contract payment of $7.92 million, higher than slot money ($7.79 million)
. The decision also had a major impact on Pittsburgh and Texas’ second round selection: Pittsburgh picked pitcher Anthony Solometto, then ranked 17th overall in the second round (37th overall), and signed him for $2.8 million. That’s $800,000 more than the 37th-ranked slot money ($2 million)먹튀검증,
but Texas signed 76th-ranked outfielder Aaron Zavala in the second round (38th overall) for $830,000. It was $10,000, but I was forced to spend a lot of money in the first round and pick a relatively low-value player in the second round.
■ Worrying Pittsburgh and Peaceful Washington
Now, the time to choose is running out. Whether it’s Skins or Cruz, it’s no wonder Pittsburgh picks anyone.
Pittsburgh could make the wrong choice to save more money and collect better-than-rated players in the second and third rounds. This is why outfielder Wyatt Langford (21) of the University of Florida is constantly being mentioned. Langford is the 3rd pick in this draft.
Pittsburgh’s concerns will continue until just before the draft, but there is a team that smiles. The Washington Nationals with the second overall pick. This is because if Pittsburgh draws Skins, you can go to Cruz, and if Skins remain, you can pick Skins. It is in the same context as when Hanwha sang two years ago that they would comfortably pick a player that KIA did not pick, whether it was Moon Dong-ju or Kim Do-young.
If Pittsburgh chooses to go to Langford, Washington can feel good about picking one of its best pitchers and hitters. That might even make the Detroit Tigers, who have the third overall pick, laugh.
I wonder if it will be a more interesting draft if we watch what Pittsburgh will choose on draft day and which team the best pitchers and hitters will go to.