Everything is going according to plan. Ryu Hyun-jin (37-Hanhwa) is on track to start his professional baseball career. His recent performance has even been described as “beyond perfect”. Naturally, there is a lot of interest in Ryu’s next start.
Ryu is scheduled to start an exhibition game against Lotte on May 17 at Sajik Stadium in Busan. It’s the last time he’ll be able to test his conditioning before the regular season begins. He will take five days off after that start and then start the opening game against Jamsil LG on Sept. 23.
After 12 years in a Hanwha uniform, Ryu has been working his way back into the KBO, starting with a training camp in Okinawa, Japan. So far, his progress has been flawless.
Ryu started an exhibition game against Kia at the Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on Dec. 12 and threw 62 pitches in four innings, allowing one run on three hits. He walked none and struck out three. He gave up a run, but it’s hard to find fault with his pitching.
In addition to a knife-edge fastball that would make a robot umpire’s jaw drop, his offspeed stuff was on full display. His fastball reached a maximum velocity of 148 kilometers per hour. That’s five kilometers faster than the 143-kilometer fastball he threw in the team’s own practice game just five days earlier. “I think my velocity came out better than I thought,” Ryu said.
Experts were also very positive about Ryu’s current physical condition.
“Considering the timing, age, and surgery history, (Ryu) has prepared very well,” said MBC Sports Plus commentator Jung Min-cheol on the 13th. He seems to have gone beyond smoothly,” and predicted that “150 innings in the regular season will be easy if you look at his performance so far.”
Ryu will take the mound against Lotte in his final start before Opening Day with a focus on increasing his pitch count and innings. He’ll also look to 토토사이트 improve his changeup, which faltered in his last outing.
“I think I need to throw one more inning while increasing my pitch count,” Ryu explained, “and I’ll also check my changeup, which didn’t work as well as I wanted it to.”
If he completes his outing safely, Ryu will make his official KBO debut against Jamsil LG in the opening game of the season as scheduled. But there’s a catch. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration’s weather forecast, there is rain in Sajik-dong, Dongnae-gu, Busan, on the morning of the game.
If the exhibition game is rained out, Ryu’s regular season start could be rescheduled. Even Ryu, who arrived at the final gate smoothly, is most wary of the weather. “There is a forecast for rain, so I think I have to be nervous,” Ryu said.