The "first nomination" duo, who will carry the future of the Samsung Lions, will study in the U.S. The main characters are pitcher Hwang Dong-jae (23) and infielder Lee Jae-hyun (21).메이저사이트

"We have decided to send Hwang Dong-jae (Wa Lee Jae-hyun) to Cressey Sports Performance (CSP), a baseball program facility in West Palm Beach, Florida," Samsung said on the 2nd.

Hwang Dong-jae and Lee Jae-hyun will depart for the U.S. on Thursday, and will train in accordance with differentiated programs after analyzing physical conditions and measuring physical capabilities there. They will complete their three-week tour and return to Korea on December 23. The team will have three support staff accompanying them to help the players.

Both players will carry Samsung's future. Hwang joined the team through the first round of nominations in 2020 and Lee Jae-hyun in 2022. As such, the club has high expectations for them.

Hwang played in only one game during his debut season. His ERA is 54.00. He underwent Tommy John surgery that year and took a break in his second year in 2021.

In his first start since his debut against Lotte on April 23, 2022, he displayed potential by allowing two runs in five innings. Since then, he has played in 16 games, starting and relocating.

In the 2023 season, he felt elbow pain in the spring camp and returned to Korea early. Eventually, he played only seven games last year. Hwang Dong-jae, who left a regretful first three seasons, found a chance to play this season.

He started off unstable. He showed poor performance at practice games held in Okinawa, and opened the game in the second division. Hwang Dong-jae, who joined the first division in late June, pitched 42 innings in 15 games, recording one win, two losses and an ERA of 4.07. Notably, he was given a chance to start the game in the second half of the year, and he pitched more than five innings each time, impressing himself.

Hwang Dong-jae, who joined the playoff entry, was in charge of starting the third playoff game. He thus secured a starting position in his first fall baseball game. During three innings, he faced 12 batters, and had only one hit, but he still had three walks. In the second game of the Korean Series, he played in one game, and ended up allowing five hits, one walk, and five runs in ⅔ innings. Thus, he ended this season.

After the end of last season, Lee Jae-hyun underwent surgery for his left shoulder joint. He showed rapid rehabilitation and returned to the first-team roster in mid-April, faster than expected. He played in only 109 games, but posted a batting average of 0.260 with 14 homers, 66 RBIs and 71 runs, a on-base percentage of 0.365 and a slugging percentage of 0.419 and an OPS of 0.784. He also posted his personal best in various offensive indicators including batting average, home run, RBI, scoring, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

He was responsible for 862 ⅓ innings as the main shortstop and showed good defense, recording only 11 errors.

The club, which is growing but still thinks it needs a lot of supplementation, decided to send it to study abroad to improve its skills.

Samsung explained, "We decided to dispatch young pitchers to improve their skills." Acquiring know-how to manage physical stamina that can last a season is a common task for the two players.

The club also explained, "We hope that Hwang Dong-jae will be able to establish a training routine to improve his ball control, and that Lee Jae-hyun will be equipped with an optimized swing mechanism."

This is not the first time for Samsung players to study abroad. In November last year, it sent a total of 10 pitchers including Choi Chae-heung, Choi Ji-kwang, Kim Tae-hoon, Moon Yong-ik, Hong Jung-woo, Lee Jae-ik, Hong Seung-won, Hong Moo-won, Lee Seung-min, and Hwang Dong-jae to the Driveline Tokyo session. In late April, it also dispatched Choi to a push performance in Arizona.