Professional baseball LG Twins fireballer prospect Heo Yong-joo (22) has been recognized for his high potential by manager Yeom Kyung-yup.
Heo is a right-handed pitching prospect who joined LG after being selected in the 7th round (67th overall) of the 2023 rookie draft. Shortly after joining, he underwent elbow surgery and has yet to make his debut in the first team, pitching in 8 games (11 innings) in the Futures League last year, recording 1 win, 1 loss, 1 hold, and an earned run average of 8.18. He throws a fastball nearing 160 km/h, but he had significant control issues, issuing 17 walks and hitting 2 batters in 11 innings.
There are still many areas to refine, but manager Yeom Kyung-yup has significant expectations. In an interview on the 23rd, he emphasized, "The fastest pitcher on our team is Heo Yong-joo," and noted, "He gave up 3 hits in the exhibition game, but there were aspects where the fielders did not help with defense. There were also hits that became as outfielders threw their hands up. Just not giving walks and allowing hits is a tremendous improvement."
"When I first came to Jamsil Stadium and was told to throw the ball, I was throwing at the net behind me instead of to the catcher," manager Yeom Kyung-yup laughed and said, "He has grown tremendously in such a short time. The pitching coaches have really worked hard." He added, "Nevertheless, he definitely has the highest velocity on our team and can throw close to 160 km/h. Even now, he throws 150 km/h without being at 100%. If he throws 100%, his control goes off, so we are training him to throw at about 80%. I think he will certainly break 155 km/h in the future," unable to hide his excitement.
However, his control holds him back from contributing to the team's strength right away. Manager Yeom Kyung-yup stated, "He's not a pitcher we can use from opening day," adding, "The goal is to make it so he can make an appearance in the second half. I want to develop him into a key card for next year. Heo Yong-joo is a pitcher we are looking to develop until next year. He is rapidly improving, but baseball does not happen overnight. The biggest issue is the loss of feel in his hands, so he needs to practice a lot."
Choo Se-hyun, a rookie right-handed pitcher who joined LG after being selected in the 2nd round (20th overall) of the 2025 rookie draft, is also one of the pitching prospects that manager Yeom Kyung-yup is keeping an eye on. Yeom noted, "He's much better than I expected," adding, "However, it will still be difficult for him to come up to the first team right away. He has much better control and feel than Heo Yong-joo. However, Heo has a much stronger pitch than Choo Se-hyun," expressing optimism for the growth of both pitching prospects.