Can LG Twins pitcher Jung Woo-young really make a comeback this year?
Youm Kyoung-youb named Jung Woo-young, along with Jang Hyun-sik, Ham Deok-ju and Lee Jeong-yong, as pitchers in the bullpen who need to rebound. Although the velocity that once reached 157km has disappeared, if he regains command of his two-seam fastball with its unpredictable late movement, he can return to the trusted relief corps.
Jung Woo-young joined LG as the 15th pick in the second round of the 2019 rookie draft, won rookie of the year, and posted improving results year after year. He recorded 16 holds, 20 holds, 27 holds and 35 holds, earning the hold title in 2022. However, from 2023 he lost command and velocity and struggled.
Jung Woo-young said, "Originally the plan was to have the bone fragment removal surgery after the 2022 season. For various reasons the operation was postponed a bit, and I played the 2023 season with pain." He added, "Because I felt pain, my form changed a lot. I kept trying changes to find the form that had been working. I also think I was overly obsessed with velocity. When my velocity was high, I grew without knowing my exact routine, so when I fell into a slump I would look back on the good appearances but didn't know what to do."
In 2025, ahead of spring camp he spent more than three weeks receiving lessons at Tread Athletics in the United States to work on a comeback. However, he showed poor command in last year's exhibition games and started the season in the second team, and in the first team he posted an earned run average of 20.25 across four games. It was the worst performance of his career.
Jung Woo-young said, "Before the 2025 season I went to the U.S. to learn baseball. It was, of course, a good experience, but looking back I think it was a bit disappointing from the start. I joined spring camp and then started the season, but at that time on the field I wasn't fighting the batters, I was fighting myself. Because my form wasn't settled, I worried about my mechanics and focused too much on myself. As a result, I couldn't get good results."
Jung Woo-young also took part in last year's finishing camp. He said, "Since turning pro, last year was my first time attending a finishing camp. From the finishing camp my physical condition was very good, and there was no special reason but my condition remained very good during the off-season. It's the best my body has felt in the past four years."
He is gradually finding a breakthrough. Jung Woo-young said, "During last year's finishing camp I talked a lot with the manager, and the manager suggested a good approach: keep things simple on the mound as much as possible. I've been practicing simple pitching motions from that finishing camp until now. So I think I'm getting better gradually."
At spring camp Jung Woo-young is being managed as a player who needs to rebound. He said, "When Myung-geun goes to the military, the only sidearm pitchers on the team will be Kang Hoon and me. So my role will inevitably increase, and the manager told me I have to do a lot this season. He told me, 'You're not a prospect but a player with a career, so change your thinking: don't fight yourself on the mound, empty your mind and throw simply—you can still get good results by throwing simply.'"
What he focuses on most at camp is mental strength on the mound. He said, "Pitching-wise it's about throwing simply. I've come to think that if I pitch comfortably, the viewers will watch comfortably too. I'm trying to pitch simply as the manager said. On the mound I always practice throwing simply. That's the direction the manager mentioned."
His thinking has changed as well. Jung Woo-young explained, "What I newly resolved this time is that during the difficult three years I tried to raise my velocity drastically in camp. Focusing only on velocity had the opposite effect and changed my pitching mechanics a lot, and because I tried to use so much force my form became much shorter."
He added, "When camp began I and coach Kim Kwang-sam decided not to raise the pace too quickly and to increase it slowly. I didn't focus on velocity at all. I believe velocity will come whenever the body is well prepared. Also, since the finishing camp I've been concentrating on consistently maintaining the simple pitching form routines the manager mentioned."
He is improving psychologically and technically. Jung Woo-young said, "Compared with this point last year, aside from velocity I've improved a lot. I'm still lacking, but the content of my pitching is getting better, and the pitches that used to sail are landing more in the strike zone. Even the day before the intra-squad game the manager and the head coach told me the uncomfortable points on the mound. Keeping that advice in mind, I tried to be more comfortable on the mound, and after the intra-squad game the head coach told me I seemed much more at ease. I want to keep being comfortable."
Jung Woo-young said, "This season I want to pitch about 40 to 50 games in the first team. To do that, my short-term goal is to pitch with stable content in the Okinawa camp and the exhibition games."
Above all, he wants to show "pitching that is true to Jung Woo-young." He said, "Fans may remember me when my velocity was a lot higher, but I think true-to-me pitching is to manage inning pitch counts efficiently and induce ground balls."
Jung Woo-young said, "I know well that I must not show the same performance as last year anymore. I've hardened my resolve, and starting this year my goal is to appear in many games and show good performances to the fans who remember my past strong appearances. I will prepare well."
[OSEN]