A rookie pitcher for the Lotte Giants, Park Jun-woo (20), known as "Sajik Karina" to baseball fans, is attracting attention as a surprise card from the bullpen.

Park Jun-woo pitched in relief in the opener against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium on the 22nd. He recorded 1⅓ innings, allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and striking out 1, while not allowing any runs. His maximum fastball velocity reached 150 km/h, and he threw fastballs clocked at 147-148 km/h.

Park Jun-woo took the mound in the sixth inning with two outs and runners on first and second, following Song Jae-young, while trailing 2-9. He allowed the first batter, Park Hae-min, to reach base on a hit by pitch with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike. Despite letting his first batter reach base on a hit by pitch, he handled Ko Bon-hyuk, who came up with the bases loaded and two outs, by inducing a ground ball to the shortstop, escaping the inning without allowing a run.

He continued to pitch in the seventh inning, surrendering a single to lead-off batter Hong Chang-ki. With no outs and a runner on first, he faced the heart of the LG lineup, batting orders 2-4. He retired pinch hitter Moon Sung-joo on a ground ball to the pitcher, throwing to first for the out. He struck out Austin swinging with a slider (137 km/h) and ended the inning by getting Moon Bo-kyung, who hit a two-run homer on that day, to ground out to second base on a first pitch fastball (147 km/h).

Lotte's ace, Barnes, allowed 7 runs through the third inning in the opener against LG on the 23rd and was removed early. In the midst of the third inning, Park Jin warmed up in the bullpen, and starting in the fourth inning, trailing 2-7, they called upon Kim Kang-hyun, Song Jae-young, and Park Jun-woo.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung noted the next day, "Right now, I am thinking of including Park Jin in the winning lineup. His raw stuff is good. It’s a bit difficult to reverse what happened yesterday, so there was no reason to bring him in." He added, "Park Jun-woo looked good yesterday, too. We currently have two veterans, but if the winning lineup can't throw over 145 km/h, it will be tough. Experience alone won't cut it."

They are keeping an eye on young pitchers who throw fastballs clocked at 150 km/h and in the mid-140s from the bullpen. While it might be burdensome to assign them to the winning lineup immediately, they could serve as a source of energy in the bullpen as part of the chase.

Park Jun-woo, who joined Lotte as the 33rd overall pick in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, pitched mostly in the second division last year. Lotte aimed to develop Park Jun-woo as a starting pitcher, and he recorded 4 wins and 5 losses with an earned run average of 5.05 over 15 games (14 as a starter), pitching 67⅔ innings.

He was called up to the first team in September last year and made his professional debut on September 8 against SSG, pitching 1 scoreless inning without allowing a hit. In the first team, he appeared in 2 games, pitching 2 innings, allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, and 2 earned runs (earned run average of 9.00).

Park Jun-woo has a connection with the girl group aespa, having guided Karina's ceremonial first pitch last June, and gained the nickname "Sajik Karina" by dressing up as Karina and covering aespa's choreography during the Futures League All-Star Game. In his second year since debuting, he wants to promote his name, Park Jun-woo, more than the nickname "Sajik Karina."

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