"Hanwha will be permanently determined." Cheongju Local Boy's spirit is aiming for the Rookie of the Year with everyone's highly praised control
"Hanwha will be permanently determined." Cheongju Local Boy's spirit is aiming for the Rookie of the Year with everyone's highly praised control
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As a local boy who has conquered Cheongju, he has a unique sense of pride and spirit for the Hanwha Eagles. Hanwha rookie Kwon Min-gyu (19) aimed to become a permanent member beyond the Rookie of the Year.
Before leaving for Melbourne, Australia via Incheon International Airport on the 22nd, Kwon Min-gyu said in an interview with reporters, "Honestly, I never imagined that I would follow the first-team spring camp. It's an honor to follow. It's nice to have a lot of new players and a lot of comfortable people who can lean on."
Hanwha will hold its spring camp from Jan. 25 to Feb. 19 at Ballpark in Melbourne, Australia. After the initial training session, the team will engage in three consecutive games with the Australian national baseball team on Nov. 14-16. The first camp, which consists of 61 players including coach Kim Kyung-moon, nine coaching staff, six training coaches and 45 players, will also include new pitchers Jeong Woo-ju, Kwon Min-gyu, Park Boo-sung, catcher Han Ji-yoon, infielder Lee Seung-hyun and outfielder Lee Min-jae.
Kwon Min-gyu is a left-hander who was designated by Hanwha as the 12th overall in the second round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2025 after graduating from Seokkyo Elementary School, Segwang Middle School, and Sehwa High School. He has 1.38 walks per nine innings in high school with a high RBI from his 189cm, weight of 89kg, and soft pitching foam, which is close to a perfect score in amateur.
He was considered a talented player who would have been nominated in the first round if it had been another year by KBO scouts, and was also picked as Jung Woo-joo (19·2025 1R No. 2) who was also selected as the most promising rookie at Hanwha's new stadium this year. Yang Sang-moon, Hanwha's first team pitching coach who watched Kwon Min-gyu in last year's closing camp, told Star News recently, "In fact, I didn't like the player who actually liked his control when he came to the professional league. However, he was different. To be honest, I am not worried at all (about my ball control). I thought that there would be no problem even if there was an ABS."
Hanwha's pitching staff, which has not seen a suitable left-hander, predicts Kwon Min-gyu's quick debut in the first division. Among left-handers in the past three years, his ball control is considered the best after Yoon Young-chul (21, Kia Tigers). Coach Yang Sang-moon also affirmed, "It was true that we were disappointed with the setup man or the middle pitcher for two to three years, but if Kwon Min-gyu enters the entry, we will be able to breathe in the running of the pitcher."
Kwon said, "I heard that there are not that many left-handed pitchers in our team. I want to be of help so that there are no rumors that I am weak left-handed," adding, "Since I am the youngest, the key is to keep my life as the youngest and not get hurt. I am going to make a good body in Australia and join the first team."
Kwon can use a maximum speed of 147 kilometers per hour and an average speed of 143 kilometers per hour as well as various pitching styles including slider, curveball, change-up, fork, change-up, and two-seam fastball. However, he plans to focus on sliders and change-up this year, gradually enhancing the completeness of curves. "I want to get to know Ryu Hyun-jin the most. I want to learn how to throw breaking balls such as curves and how to think and throw balls when dealing with batters," he said.
Like a native of Cheongju, all of his family members are fans of Hanwha. Kwon Min-gyu, who grew up watching Kim Tae-kyun, Song Kwang-min, and Willin Rosario from a young age, talked about his pride. 메이저놀이터
Kwon Min-gyu said, "My goal is to do better than anyone else because I'm rumored to be a local boy, so I'm going to do it permanently."
To achieve this goal, Rookie of the Year was the first priority. Computer ball control, which everyone recognized, is his trademark and main weapon. "I was the most confident in my ball control since elementary school, and I have been practicing it since I was young. I try to increase my ball control with strength," Kwon said with a big smile. "I think rookie king can be everyone, but I wish I could be the hero."