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’20-Year-Old Lefty’ First-Year Prospect Earns His First Career Start

adminJuly 4, 2023

The LG Twins’ first-round draft pick has finally gotten his chance to make his first start.

LG manager Yoon Kyung-yeop talked about this week’s starting rotation at Jamsil Stadium on Thursday and revealed that Cho Won-tae, 20, will start.

Yoon said, “If today’s game is rained out, Im Chan-kyu will start tomorrow (the 5th). After that, if there is no rain cancellation, Cho Won-tae will start against Lotte on Sunday.”

The KT-LG game on the 4th was canceled due to rain. The starting rotation will be Im Chan-kyu (5 days)-Kelly (6 days)-Plutko (7 days)-Lee Jung-yong (8 days)-Jo Won-tae (9 days).안전놀이터

Cho Won-tae, a first-round pick last year, appeared in two games out of the bullpen for the first team last year, pitching four scoreless innings. In the second team, he went 3-1 with a 7.68 ERA in 12 games (38⅔ innings).

This season, he’s been in the Futures League the entire time, building his starting rotation. He is 3-1 with a 5.45 ERA in 10 games with the second team.

Cho has won three straight starts in June, including a 3⅔-inning, two-run no-decision at SSG on April 2.

LG pitcher Cho Won-tae. / OSEN DB

Manager Yoon said, “He’s reporting well from the second team, so I’m giving him a chance as a starter. I was thinking about calling him up when we won three in a row, but now I’m giving him a chance.”

Yeom plans to start Cho Won-tae and use Lee Ji-gang as a 1+1. “Lotte has a lot of lefties, so I’m looking forward to him (left-hander Cho Won-tae),” Yeom said.

LG’s biggest concern this season has been the struggles of its homegrown starters. Kim Yun-sik, Lee Min-ho, and Kang Hyo-jong, the three to five starters in the opening rotation, have all been relegated to the second team after struggling.

Reliever Lee Jung-yong-in has been challenging for a starting role, while Lee Sang-young and Lee Ji-kang have been rotating for the fifth spot. Kim Yun-sik and Lee Min-ho have been in the second team for a while, rebuilding their bodies from scratch as if they were in spring training again. They are looking forward to returning to good form in the second half of the season in August.