Who will be responsible for this year's opening game?
KT announced the opening game selections in advance at the beginning of last year's spring camp. Wes Benjamin, a foreign left-hander who had already hit 149 km/h during the live pitching phase at spring training in Arizona, USA, and had clearly raised his pitching status very early, was selected as the starter for the first game of the season.
This year is still quiet. KT coach Lee Kang-cheol is carefully checking and diagnosing the condition of the pitchers.
KT completed its actual inspection at the spring camp in Okinawa, Japan, after holding a practice game against KIA on the 4th. After training for one day on the 5th, they return home on the 6th and begin preparations for the exhibition game.
All starting pitchers played in practice against Hanwha on the 4th and against KIA on the 5th. William Cuevas and Go Young-pyo appeared side by side against Hanwha on the 4th, and Benjamin and Eom Sang-baek appeared side by side against KIA on the 5th. Cuevas and Benjamin were each in their second games, while Go Young-pyo and Eom Sang-baek completed their inspection in their first games. In total, about 30 were thrown.
Everything is going smoothly. Cuevas recorded a maximum of 148 km, allowing 3 hits and no runs in 3 innings. He pitched aggressively, focusing on fastballs in the first and second innings, and then tested several pitches with cut fastballs and sweepers in the third. Go Young-pyo pitched 2 innings, allowing 1 hit, 2 strikeouts, and no runs. He especially actively checked the curves.
On the 4th, Benjamin recorded 1 hit, 3 strikeouts, and no runs in 2 innings. He recorded an average distance of 145 km and a maximum distance of 149 km. The changeup was a little weak, but he attacked the strike zone with a fast ball. Eom Sang-baek allowed 5 hits, 2 strikeouts, and 1 run in 2 innings. As he got hit by 4 batters in a row, he showed that his pitch had not improved yet.
KT is planning to return after June after completing elbow rehabilitation this season, so these four players will have to take the lead in the first half of the season. The starting pitcher for the opening game has no choice but to select the pitcher with the strongest pitch and quick pace. The pitcher who will pitch in the opening game against Samsung on the 23rd will also pitch against Hanwha in Daejeon on the 29th. It is his fate to face off against Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), who has turned the KBO league upside down, as the starting pitcher.
Given that the opponent in the opening match is Samsung, there is a high possibility that Cuevas will play. This is because in 2021, when KT won, Cuevas was a team that showed relative strength after completely defeating Samsung in the tiebreak, which tied for first place after 144 games. Cuevas left KT and rejoined during last season, playing a critical role in helping KT rise from 9th place to 2nd place, and established himself as an ace.
However, director Lee Kang-cheol is still keeping quiet. Benjamin's current condition is not bad, and pitcher Go Young-pyo, who is worth 10.7 billion won, is also doing well. Since everyone has completed the actual inspection once or twice, we plan to make a decision after thoroughly reviewing the demonstration games.
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