Can SSG Landers pitcher Jeong Dong-yoon (28) seize an opportunity in his 10th year since joining?
Jeong Dong-yoon was drafted in 2016 as the first pick by SK (currently SSG). However, after joining in 2016, he has only appeared in a total of 8 games in the first team, pitching 9⅓ innings. He played in 2 games (3 innings) in 2017, 2 games (2⅔ innings) in 2018, 1 game (2 innings) in 2021, and 3 games (1⅔ innings) in 2024.
Jeong Dong-yoon's ball speed increased due to short-term training in the United States that SSG conducted midway through last season. An SSG official noted, 'The fastball velocity was in the upper 130s (km/h), but it has increased to the mid 140s.'
Although he has the physical build of 193 cm, his speed was slow. However, by undergoing tailored training at Tread Athletics in the U.S., his fastball velocity increased by about 5 km/h. After finishing his training in the U.S. last year, Jeong Dong-yoon appeared in 3 games in the first team in September, showing potential by pitching 1⅔ innings with 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, and no earned runs.
Jeong Dong-yoon continued to address his deficiencies with about 3 weeks of personal training at Tread Athletics before the Florida spring camp in January.
Manager Lee Seung-yong stated regarding Jeong Dong-yoon, 'He has upgraded significantly compared to when he came up in the second half of last year.' He noted, 'Many people said his curveball was good, and while it is indeed good, he has started to throw the two-seam fastball, which has quite a bit of movement.'
He continued, 'I saw him in the batting cage during camp and told him to throw the two-seam fastball instead of the four-seam. He also learned the splitter (forkball), and when I give feedback, he quickly adapts it as his own. Coach Gyeong Heon-ho designed the pitching to help him focus, and as of now, he is pitching almost perfectly. The ball speed has also increased quite a bit compared to before.'
On the 11th, Jeong Dong-yoon took the mound as a starting pitcher in a practice game against Hanwha at Incheon SSG Landers Field. This was his first appearance in a practice game in 10 years since joining. Jeong Dong-yoon struggled, pitching 3⅓ innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 5 earned runs.
In the first inning, he recorded 2 outs well, but allowed a double that went over the right fielder’s head to Florial with a curveball. He then gave up a timely double to Noh Si-hwan that scored the first run. In the second inning, he allowed the lead-off batter Kim Tae-yeon to reach base on a hit by pitch and then gave up a double to Lim Jong-chan. In a no-out situation with runners on 2nd and 3rd, he surrendered one more run with a ground ball to the shortstop. He retired Shim Woo-jun and Hwang Yeong-muk with ground balls to the shortstop with one out and a runner on 2nd.
In the third inning, he gave up a hit to lead-off batter Choi In-ho, and while he recorded 2 outs with pop flies by Florial and Noh Si-hwan, he allowed a double to Choi Eun-sung that brought in a third run. In the fourth, after a hit, a walk, and a ground ball, with one out and runners on 1st and 3rd, he was replaced. The relief pitcher allowed both inherited runners to score, increasing the total earned runs to 5.
He threw 31 two-seam fastballs, 18 cutters, 9 curveballs, and 8 forkballs, with the fastest two-seam recorded at 146 km/h.
SSG is deliberating on the fifth starter position, considering Park Jong-hoon, Song Young-jin, Jeong Dong-yoon, and Kim Geon-woo. As foreign pitcher Mitch White is expected to miss the early part of the season due to a hamstring injury, two of the four will have the opportunity to start early in the season. Can Jeong Dong-yoon seize that opportunity?
[OSEN]