Kia’s ‘Future Calm’ Wonjun Choi (26, Senior Vice President) is nearing the end of his military service. On the 12th, he will return to society after completing his national defense duties. On the 13th, he will be able to play for the first team against Gocheok Kiwoom. Won-jun Choi showed that he still has what it takes to win the 2022 Futures League batting title (.382).
However, Choi’s performance this season has been less than stellar. In 25 games in the Futures League, he is 21-for-92 with a .228 batting average, one home run, nine RBI, 19 runs scored, a .315 on-base percentage, and a .398 slugging percentage. His pace hasn’t been great in his last 10 games either, as he’s batting .216 with one home run, two doubles, and 11 RBIs.
Choi was sidelined for about a week in early May due to a slightly sore shoulder. Manager Kim Jong-kook explained that this affected his batting pace to some extent. 토토사이트 Jong-Kook was hoping that Choi would be able to get his batting average up before the end of the season, but it’s not happening at this point.
Choi has five games left with the Sangmu. They face KIA in Chinjung on July 7-8 and then LG on July 9-11. After a five-game homestand in Mungyeong, it’s back to KIA. Given that the KIA lineup is far from complete at this point, there is a good chance that Choi Won-jun will go straight into the lineup against Gochuk Kiwoom on the 13th.
However, even if Choi isn’t fully healthy, KIA shouldn’t be too worried. The outfield has already survived two months without Na Sung-bum. Go Jong-wook and Lee Woo-sung have been filling in at the corner outfield spots and have performed above expectations at the plate. Lee Chang-jin and Kim Ho-ryung also filled in well.
If Choi Won-jun makes the first team, the KIA outfield will have more rotation depth. Someone could even drop down to the second team. Choi Won-jun is also likely to rotate with the existing members rather than be locked into one spot. Realistically, there are a lot of possible combinations in the outfield with Socrates Brito as the centerpiece. It would be best if Choi Won-jun comes into his own quickly, but KIA has time to wait.
Longer term, the team needs to sort out its positioning. Choi has been a fixture in the outfield in the past, playing center field before moving to right field, a position eventually occupied by Na Sung-bum. When Na Sung-bum returns in July, it is likely that Won-jun will play right field as a designated hitter.
However, if Choi Hyung-woo is flying until then, Choi Won-jun’s position could become ambiguous because Choi Hyung-woo will have to play defense even if Na Sung-bum is the designated hitter. Socrates’ playing time should also be considered. All in all, Choi Won-jun’s return will be followed by a crucial debut for manager Kim Jong-kook.