As the 2024 KBO season progresses, here is a look at the top news and notes from the past day in Korea’s highest level of professional baseball.
Jung Hyun-Woo Headlines KBO Draft
With the first pick of the 2025 annual amateur draft, the Kiwoom Heroes selected Jung Hyun-woo, a left-handed pitcher from Duksoo High School.
The 18-year-old is coming off a dominant season in 2024. In 16 games, Jung went 8-0 with a 0.75 ERA, striking out 70 batters and walking just nine. His fastball sits around 93 miles per hour while also featuring a slider and a forkball.
The Hanwha Eagles followed with fellow high school pitcher Jeong Woo-joo, while Duksoo infielder Park Jun-soon went sixth overall to the Doosan Bears as the first position player off the board.
Late Rally Gives Kiwoom Heroes the Win
A four-run, eighth-inning rally helped the Kiwoom Heroes secure a comeback win over the LG Twins. A three-run double by Song Sung-mun broke the 5-5 tie, proving to be the deciding blow.
Song’s double was his third hit of the night and continued a breakout season for the 28-year-old. He has already set career highs with 17 home runs and 93 RBI while ranking fourth in the KBO with a .340 batting average.
Koo Ja-Wook Puts on a Show
Samsung Lions outfielder Koo Ja-Wook tormented Hanwha Eagles pitching all night long by going 4-for-5 with two home runs and 6 RBI in the Lions 10-1 victory.
The pair of longballs extended Koo’s career-high total to 26, ranking seventh in the KBO. Koo’s production has helped the Lions post a solid 74-57-2 mark this season, though they remain 6.5 games back of the first-place Kia Tigers.
KBO Standings as of Wednesday, September 11
- KIA Tigers (80-50-2)
- Samsung Lions (74-57-2)
- LG Twins (68-62-2)
- KT Wiz (66-65-2)
- Doosan Bears (65-66-2)
- SSG Landers (62-68-2)
- Lotte Giants (59-66-4)
- Hanwha Eagles (60-68-4)
- NC Dinos (58-70-2)
- Kiwoom Heroes (56-76-0)
Watch KBO games using the global streaming platform SOOP.
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WBN KBO: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo Credit: Outfielder Koo Ja-Wook #5 of Samsung Lions bats in the top of the ninth inning during the KBO. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)
