‘High school baseball fireballer’ Shim Jun-seok (19, Deoksu High School) signed a contract with a major league (MLB) team.
MLB.com reported on the 16th (Korean time), “The Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a contract with Shim Jun-seok, who is ranked 10th in the international prospect rankings.”
Shim Jun-seok, who refused to participate in the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft held in September of last year and declared an MLB challenge, finally succeeded in signing a contract. This is somewhat of an expected result. On the 12th, The Athletic, an American sports media outlet, reported that “Shim Jun-seok, who was ranked 10th in the international prospect list by MLB.com, is about to go to Pittsburgh.”
In Pittsburgh, which belongs to the NL Central District, Ji-Hwan Choi and Ji-Hwan Bae belong to the team. It is the last MLB team of Park Chan-ho, the ‘Korean Express’ who recorded 124 wins in the big leagues, and is familiar to domestic fans.토토사이트
The exact down payment is not known, but it is estimated to be around 3 million dollars locally.
Brandon Maya (Cuba, outfielder), ranked 9th, signed a contract with the New York Yankees for $4.4 million, and Ariel Castro (Cuba, outfielder), ranked 11th, signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins for $2.5 million. Venezuelan catcher Ethan Salas, the number one international prospect, signed a contract with the San Diego Padres for $5.6 million (approximately 6.95 billion won).
Kim Byeong-hyeon ($2.25 million) is the player who recorded the highest contract amount after signing with an MLB club as an amateur instead of a professional. In 1999, Byung-Hyun Kim signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Local expectations for Shim Jun-seok, who has already been recognized in Korea, are also high. In the field, Shim Jun-seok is evaluated as a pitcher who pitches calmly, citing his fast ball and curve as his key weapons.
MLB.com said, “Shim Jun-seok throws a fast ball with a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (about 161 km) and an average speed of 94 to 96 miles per hour. He also uses a curve that drops from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock. He also has the ability to effectively control the types of pitches he can use,” he said.
“I am also polishing my slider and changeup, so I can equip them as key pitches in the future,” he said.
CBS Sports said, “Sim Jun-seok was a top-notch prospect who was likely to be nominated first in the KBO League amateur draft, but withdrew his application to challenge the big leagues.” He is a pitcher with a calm personality.”
Shim Jun-seok, who signed a contract with Pittsburgh amid high expectations, can now throw the ball aiming only to enter the big leagues.