Rookies Jang Chan-hee, Park Jung-min, and Park Jun-hyun Selected for KBO All-Star Game via Manager Picks

The Lotte Giants and Kiwoom Heroes, who failed to have any players selected for the Best 12 in the professional baseball All-Star fan vote, have eased their disappointment by having several players named as manager picks.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on June 29 the 26 players who will participate in the All-Star Game through manager recommendations.

SSG Landers manager Lee Sung-yong, who leads the Dream All-Stars (Samsung Lions, SSG Landers, kt wiz, Doosan Bears, Lotte Giants), selected Kim Gun-woo, Jo Hyeong-woo, Jung Jun-jae, and Oh Tae-gon (all from SSG); Jang Chan-hee and Kim Do-hwan (both from Samsung); Son Dong-hyun, Jeon Yong-ju, and Heo Kyoung-min (all from kt); and Kim Jin-uk, Park Jung-min, Hyun Do-hoon, and Hwang Seong-bin (all from Lotte).

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yup, who leads the Nanum All-Stars (LG Twins, Hanwha Eagles, NC Dinos, KIA Tigers, Kiwoom Heroes), selected Woo Kang-hoon, Koo Bon-hyeok, Moon Sung-ju, and Song Chan-eui (all from LG); Ryu Hyun-jin and Lee Do-yoon (both from Hanwha); Ryu Jin-wook and Jeon Sa-min (both from NC); Han Jun-su (KIA); and Park Jun-hyun, An Woo-jin, Yuto Kanakubo, and Kim Gun-hee (all from Kiwoom).


Ryu Hyun-jin, the star pitcher who has achieved 200 combined wins in professional baseball in Korea and the U.S., will participate in the All-Star Game for the 9th time in his career and the first time in two years.

It is his first time being selected as a manager pick in 17 years.

Yuto has the honor of becoming the first player to participate in the All-Star Game under the Asian Quarter system, which was introduced this year.

Rookies who joined the league this year, Jang Chan-hee, Park Jung-min, and Park Jun-hyun, have also been named as All-Star newcomers.

Each team consists of 25 players, combining the 12 selected by fan voting and 13 recommended players.

Out of the total 50 players, 27, which is more than half, will be stepping onto the KBO League All-Star stage for the first time.

The All-Star Game will be held on July 11 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, which will close its doors after this year.

The KBO also unveiled the players who will participate in the Futures (minor league) All-Star Game, which will take place at the same venue on July 10, one day before the main All-Star Game.

A total of 48 players, 24 each representing the Northern League (Hanwha, LG, SSG, Doosan, Goyang, Sangmu) and the Southern League (kt, NC, Lotte, Samsung, KIA, Ulsan), will participate in the Futures All-Star Game.

Eligibility was limited to players who joined in 2022 or later, with up to five years of experience as of this season.

In particular, the Ulsan Whales, a civic club that was founded this year and joined the Futures League, will make their All-Star debut as part of the Southern League.

Among the Northern League Futures All-Stars led by Hanwha manager Lee Dae-jin, Kim Min-jae of Sangmu, who won the Mediheal Futures Rookie of the Month award in May, stands out.

In May, Kim Min-jae started in 4 games in the Futures League, winning all of them, and recorded an ERA of 2.74 (4th in the North) while pitching 23 innings (3rd in the North).

Among the Southern League All-Stars led by kt manager Kim Tae-kyun, Japanese-born right-handed pitcher Naga Taisei and Australian catcher Alex Hall, both from Ulsan, will be the first foreign players to grace the Futures All-Star stage.

Naga has recorded 5 wins and 2 losses with an ERA of 2.38 this season, while Hall has hit 3 home runs with a batting average of 0.261 and 48 RBIs.

(Photo: Provided by Samsung Lions, Provided by KBO, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.