Kim Dong-hyun of the Lotte Giants celebrates after scoring a run against the Samsung Lions during the clubs' Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, Saturday. Courtesy of Lotte Giants

Kim Dong-hyun, rookie outfielder for the Lotte Giants with serious power potential and impressive minor league numbers, may have looked overmatched at times in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) so far. But his manager Kim Tae-hyoung is willing to be patient with the 21-year-old and wants him to learn from his mistakes.

Kim Dong-hyun, a sixth-round draft pick by the Giants in 2024, made his KBO debut on April 19 this year. But after going hitless in two at-bats in that game, he was sent back to the Futures League, the KBO's minor league, the very next day.

The young slugger then marked his return to the KBO on Saturday by hitting a double and a triple to drive in two runs. With his max-effort swings, Kim even drew comparisons with Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox, the Japanese slugger who leads the American League with 19 home runs,

The skipper inserted Kim in the starting lineup in each of the next two games as well, but the youngster went 0-for-6 with a strikeout. Still, Kim Dong-hyun was back in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the LG Twins at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The common thread for the past two games and Wednesday's contest is the quality of the opposing starter. On Sunday, Samsung Lions starter Yang Chang-seop threw a complete game shutout against the Giants while allowing just one hit. Then on Tuesday, Twins starter Anders Tolhurst scattered five hits over 6 1/3 innings against the Giants.

In Wednesday's game, Kim Dong-hyun will be up against former major leaguer Yonny Chirinos.

"This is exactly why I kept him in the lineup," Kim Tae-hyoung said. "Back then (when he was in the Futures League), he didn't have to handle tough pitching. Now, I want him to see how he stacks up against these KBO pitchers."

Against Tolhurst, Kim Dong-hyun popped out to first, flied out to left and then struck out swinging on a forkball. The manager still saw some silver linings from those at-bats.

"I think his timing wasn't that bad. Earlier in the season, he used to start his swing before the pitch even got near him," the manager said with a smile. "I will give him at least five games."

Source: Korea Times News