LG’s second draft strategy was simple. Player leaks were tolerated, and nominations were cautious.
Of the three nomination rights, only one was used, and the target is surprising.
They selected pitcher Lee Jong-jun, who was drafted in the 9th round by NC and completed his military service obligation.
The LG Twins gave up four players and recruited one in the second draft held on the 22nd.
Most of the leaked players were selected in the first round. Instead, only one nomination ticket was used.
They passed in the 1st and 2nd rounds and nominated NC Dinos pitcher Lee Jong-jun, who was a training player, in the 3rd round. 안전놀이터
The transfer fee for a 3rd round player is 200 million won.
Pitcher Lee Sang-gyu (Hanwha Eagles) was transferred at the 2nd place in the first round
pitcher Choi Seong-hoon (Samsung Lions) was transferred at the 3rd place, and catcher Kim Ki-yeon (Doosan Bears) was transferred at the 4th place.
Even pitcher Oh Seok-ju (Kiwoom Heroes), ranked 7th in the 2nd round, was quickly restricted to 4 players, resulting in a transfer fee of 1.5 billion won (400 million won in the first round, 300 million won in the 2nd round).
The reason for passing the first two rounds appears to be due to the number of mandatory registration days.
Players in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the secondary draft must complete the mandatory registration period within 2 years of being selected.
Round 1 is 50 days, Round 2 is over 30 days.
Perhaps because the mandatory registration days were burdensome, nearly half of the four clubs, including LG, passed the first round nomination.
Lee Jong-jun, who was chosen this way, is a player who immediately looks far from a player with a sense of power.
He is a right-handed pitcher born in 2001 and boasts an excellent physique, standing at 191 cm tall and weighing 93 kg.
However, the nomination ranking was not high. He was selected in the 9th round, 81st overall, in the 2020 draft, and did not play in a Futures League game in his first season.
In 2021, after recording 8 games, 3 wins, undefeated, 19⅔ innings, and 1 unearned run, he shouldered his military service obligation as an active duty soldier.
He was discharged from the military this year and participated in the fall training league, where he received good reviews from the LG Futures coaching staff he met as an opposing team.
LG general manager Cha Myeong-seok said, “There was a recommendation from the Futures team.”
Regarding the nomination of Lee Jong-jun, the LG club explained, “He is a tall, right-handed orthodox pitcher with a fast speed of mid to high 140 km/h.
He has fulfilled his military service obligations, and we selected him based on his potential for future growth.”
A tall and fast pitcher. It also matches the direction of LG’s recent rookie draft.
The top 3rd round players selected in the 2019 draft are 1st round pick Lee Jeong-yong (186cm), 1st rounder Lee Sang-young (192cm), and 2nd rounder Jeong Woo-young (193cm).
This trend was even more pronounced in the case of pitchers selected in the lower rounds, who were selected based on their potential.
Kim Jong-woo, an 8th-rounder pitcher selected in the 2024 draft, is 187cm tall, and 9th-rounder pitcher Kang Seok-hyeon is 185cm tall. Yongju Yong, a 7th round draft pick in 2023, is 194cm tall. Won Sang-hoon, a 5th round pick from the same year, is also 192cm tall.
The second draft is for 35 protected players as of the end of the regular season, as well as affiliated players, training players, and military pending players excluding automatic protection dashing. Players in their 1st to 3rd year of joining the team, free agents in the current year, and foreign players are automatically classified as protected players. 1st to 7th places have up to 3 rounds of nominations, and 8th to 10th places have up to 5 rounds.
The number of players a club can recruit is limited to four. LG, NC, and SSG Landers filled the four-player limit.
If there were no restrictions, more players may have left. KIA Tigers gave up 3 players, Doosan and Kiwoom gave up 2 players each, and Samsung, Hanwha, and KT Wiz gave up 1 player each. There were no leaked players from the Lotte Giants.
The team that nominated the player must deliver the transfer fee for each round to the original team.
The transfer amount was set at 400 million won for the first round, 300 million won for the second round, 200 million won for the third round, and 100 million won for rounds 4 and 5.
Players transferred in the second round of the draft cannot be traded for one year and cannot be transferred with free agent compensation.
With the exception of a player being on the injured list for more than 30 days in a season, if the player does not meet the criteria within two years
he will return to his original team after the second season (this time in 2025) or be announced as a free agent.
When returning to the original team, the team must return 50% of the transfer fee.
If the original team does not want the player to return, he becomes a free agent. He is not a free agent, but is in the same situation as a released player.