152km' fastball and sweeper...Evolved Kim Yoo-sung's Re-Challenge for the 5th Selection

152km' fastball and sweeper...Evolved Kim Yoo-sung's Re-Challenge for the 5th Selection

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Fastball pitcher Kim Yoo-sung (23, Doosan Bears) will re-attempt the starting pitcher position with a new weapon.안전놀이터

Kim Yu-seong is one of the five starting candidates announced by Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop in 2025. He has the best potential in his team. Selected in the second round of the 2023 rookie draft while attending Korea University, Kim has thrown fastballs with speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour or more since he was a high school student. He was first drafted by the NC Dinos in the 2021 rookie draft, but failed due to school violence issues during his time in Inner Dong Middle School, but he wore a professional uniform again in two years because of his outstanding pitching.

However, he failed to display his potential over the past two years. He made his first team debut after apologizing to and agreeing with victims of school violence in 2023. However, he only had an ERA of 9.95 in seven games. After going to the Education League after the season, he also had a chance to start last year, but he was sluggish in 17 games with one win and two losses and ERA of 6.43.

Kim Yu-seong is challenging to select again this year, his third year as a pro. He has been in good condition so far. After training hard throughout the winter, he increased the number of pitches to 80 within a week of the first spring camp in Sydney, Australia. He boasts a fast pace, reaching a maximum of 152 km/h at his first live pitching.

Kim Yoo-sung also pitched two innings of hitless, two strikeouts in a game against Segasami, an unemployed team, at the second camp in Miyazaki, Japan on the 21st.

Kim Yoo-sung, who met with reporters after the first camp, said, "I'm happy that the hard work I prepared before the camp has paid off," adding, "Last year was my first camp, so it took time to adapt. This year, I adjusted comfortably and had fun exercising."

"I increased my exercise capacity since the end of the 2024 camp, and I did not reduce my exercise capacity throughout the off-season," Kim said. "I exercised at the same intensity constantly until I came to the camp." His ball power has also improved. He said that his fastballs lacked strength or were less bent like cut fastballs due to his lack of consistency.

"When I looked at the tracking data during training, my fastball got less bent," Kim Yu-seong said. "Thanks to this, the points (to enter the strike zone) became constant." If the fastball's rotational power is alive, it can induce batters to swing and miss based on the vertical movement.

Another one is the sweeper. Last year, Kim Yu-seong threw a slider at his main breaking ball, but this year, he is planning to replace the sweeper with a larger lateral change than the slider. "When throwing a slider, the arm angle tended to decrease, but the batter was not easily deceived (because of the difference in arm angle and control). I thought it would be better to throw a sweeper (with large lateral change), but I think we're working well. I'm still asking Choi Jong-in and Choi Seung-yong to throw the sweeper," he said.
What Kim needs is mental growth. Last year, he recorded 9.32 strikeouts per nine innings, but failed to overcome his difficulties (7.71 walks per nine innings). "Actually, I am most worried about that part, but if I (excessively) pay attention to it, it seems (the problem) will not be solved," Kim said. "I decided to think that my fate is determined. I will do my best to reach the result," he said.