KT's So Hyung-jun, Hilliard, and Samsung's Koo Ja-wook Named MVP Candidates for July

Seven players have been nominated as candidates for the KBO League Monthly Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for July.

Announced by the KBO office today (the 4th), the nominees include pitchers So Hyung-jun and Koki Sugimoto (both of KT Wiz), Kwak Been and Wes Benjamin (both of the Doosan Bears), fielders Koo Ja-wook and Kim Ji-chan (both of the Samsung Lions), and Sam Hilliard (KT).

The nominees are concentrated among the top-performing teams.

So Hyung-jun and Kwak Been shared the top spot in monthly wins, securing 3 wins each.

In monthly earned run average (ERA), So finished second (1.78) and Kwak ranked third (1.80).

Benjamin recorded 1 loss across 4 appearances, but claimed the number one spot in monthly ERA (1.21).

Sugimoto of the Magic, the relief core of KT, recorded the most holds for the month with 8.

Koo Ja-wook tied for the most monthly runs scored (20), finished second in RBIs (23), and ranked fourth in batting average (0.402), while Kim Ji-chan led Samsung's offense by pacing the league in monthly batting average (0.431) and on-base percentage (0.506).

KT's new clutch hitter Hilliard exploded offensively, taking the top spot in monthly home runs (9), RBIs (26), and slugging percentage (0.743).

The monthly MVP winner will be determined by combining fan votes and ballots from the Korea Baseball Writers Association.

Fan voting runs from 10:00 AM today (the 4th) until midnight on the 9th through Shinhan Bank's mobile application, "Super SOL."

The monthly MVP recipient will be awarded a cash prize of 3 million won along with a commemorative trophy.

Additionally, sponsored by Shinhan Bank to support youth baseball development, a donation of 2 million won will be made in the name of the domestic MVP winner to their alma mater middle school.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.