A middle school student is the first person in the country to receive a Major League Baseball background check. Not one, but two.
They are Gong Gong-woong (15) and Lee Hyun-seung (15) of the Eunpyeong Baseball Club (BC), who are still in their third year of middle school. It turns out that at least three major league teams are interested in the duo, who will be making their high school debut next year.
“Originally, (Bang) Hero came to us first, and then (Lee) Hyun-seung came to us because his evaluation was good,” said Lee Woo-chang, the new head coach of Eunpyeong BC’s high school team, introducing his two protégés.
After graduating from Galsan Elementary School, Hyun-seung played baseball at Xinyue Middle School before switching to Eunpyeong BC at the end of his freshman year, where he played as a professional outfielder before switching to an infielder. However, his progress has been quite remarkable. After gaining experience in the Eunpyeong BC middle school team under the guidance of coach Lee Woo-chang, he improved his defense, hitting, and baserunning. It is said that the external evaluation of him is better than the internal evaluation. He has good fundamentals and throws in the mid-90s as a pitcher. He has good fundamentals and throws a fastball in the mid 130 mph range as a pitcher. He has the potential to be a five-tool player, so we’ll have to wait and see how he performs in high school.
Pitcher Gong Gong-woong, who was first evaluated by major league teams, showed his ace qualities as a junior high school sophomore with a fastball that reached 137 km/h. However, because he threw so well, he struggled for a while because he couldn’t manage his pitch count. Then, he settled in Eunpyeong BC and went through a thorough training program tailored to each player under the management of coach Lee Woo-chang.
“Even if he goes to the U.S. right now, he will become a big player if he takes minor league lessons,” a scout told MHN Sports. He also shows talent as a hitter, so it will be interesting to see how he performs at the high school level next season. 안전놀이터
The first two middle school students in Korea to receive a Major League Baseball tryout will now compete on the national stage next year as members of Eunpyeong BC High School. Seeing how they fare as freshmen will be one of the highlights of high school baseball next season.