Jang Hyun-seok, a right-handed pitcher from Masan Yongmago, has signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers to play Major League Baseball (MLB).
Ricoh Sports Agency, which represents Jang Hyun-seok’s contract, announced today that Jang Hyun-seok has signed a contract with the Dodgers for $900,000 (approximately KRW 1.18 billion).
“I am honored to join the prestigious Dodgers,” Jang said through Ricoh Sports Agency, “and I will work hard to become a better player as they have chosen me.”
Jang Hyun-seok will hold a press conference for the Dodgers at 2 p.m. on April 14 at the Dragon City Hotel in Seoul. A member of the Dodgers scouting team will be present at the press conference to explain the background of the signing.
The Dodgers, who are based in Los Angeles, California, where the largest number of Korean-Americans live in the United States, are famous for being the team where Park Chan-ho, the “Korean Express,” and Ryu Hyun-jin, the “Korean Monster” (now with the Toronto Blue Jays) made their big league debuts.
Jang Hyun-seok, one of the most highly touted pitchers to hit the MLB draft market this year, announced on March 1 that he would be joining the MLB instead of the KBO.
“Up to 10 teams were interested in signing Jang Hyun-seok, and some of them offered more than $1 million,” said Lee Yerang, a representative of Rico Sports Agency, explaining part of the negotiation process.
“The Dodgers prepared an analytical video of Jang’s pitching motion and explained the process and method of pitcher development to him,” he added.
Jang is 6-3 with a 1.85 ERA in 21 career high school games.
In 68⅓ innings pitched, he has 102 strikeouts. In that time, he has walked just 42 batters.
Jang Hyun-seok is the only amateur player to be selected to the Korean baseball team for the Hangzhou Asian Games. 파워볼사이트