KBO club manager stays patient as pitching prospect converts to position player

Kiwoom Heroes manager Hong Won-ki believes patience will be a virtue as one of his top young pitchers tries to convert to

being a position player.

Jang Jae-young, a former top draft pick by the Heroes as a hard-throwing pitcher, has decided to switch to hitting. The

Heroes announced Sunday that Jang would try to play shortstop, with center field also an option. Jang has been dealing

with some elbow pains and instead of going under the knife, he has opted for rehab.

The mid-career conversion will be part of the rehab for the 22-year-old, who was once a highly touted pitching prospect

out of high school. Jang made his minor league debut at the plate as designated hitter Tuesday and had a base hit.

That hit came against right-hander Jeong Cheol-won, the 2022 Rookie of the Year in the Korea Baseball Organization

(KBO) trying to find his game in the minors.

While the hit against a veteran pitcher is an encouraging sign, Hong said he won't make a big deal out of it just yet.

"I've heard from our coaches that Jae-young made pretty good contact, but I'd have to see him play with my own eyes at

some point," Hong told reporters before hosting the NC Dinos at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. "Whether he gets a hit or

not at this point isn't that important in the grand scheme. He has to work on his defense, and we have to keep an eye on

how his arm feels. For now, we'll give him some reps at DH to see how well he can swing the bat. But we're going to need

more time on 추천 him."

Given the hype surrounding Jang's arrival three years ago — he received a franchise-record 900 million won ($660,550)

signing bonus — not getting more out of Jang as a pitcher is a letdown for the Heroes. Jang had a 6.45 ERA in 56 outings

over the past three years.

Hong said he was only looking forward to what Jang now can bring to the team as a position player. And the manager said

he liked what he saw from Jang in the odd outfield defensive drills he did during spring training.

"Obviously, practices and games are vastly different. But he showed a lot of baseball IQ on the field," Hong said. "He's

really fast and has a strong throwing arm. I was really impressed with what he was able to do."

In his final year at Duksoo High School, Jang batted a solid a .353 batting average with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 18

games.

How that translates to the KBO remains to be seen, but Hong insisted defense has to come first.

"I believe that you must have strong defense as your foundation in order to survive in the pro ranks," Hong said. "Since he

has done fielding drills before, I think he should be able to make adjustments relatively quickly.

KBO CLUB MANAGER STAYS PATIENT AS PITCHING PROSPECT CONVERTS TO POSITION PLAYER