2016 Spring Camp: Shaping the Rotation

With the top three starters already locked in for 2016, the situation called for deciding on the fourth and fifth spots. We had a decent pool of candidates for the rotation. Shin Young-jae, who was showing promise back with the police baseball team; Choi Tae-won, with his solid potential; Ha Min-young, whose potential wasn't sky-high but who was steadily improving; Lee Yang-hoon, who'd heated up in the second half; and rookies from the draft like Jeon Sang-hyuk, Choi Sang-young, and Shin Ha-jin.

Not a perfect five-man rotation by any means, but incorporating long relievers made it workable. Training them with that in mind, I started feeling like we could post some good results if they performed well this year.

I redesigned training regimens tailored to each player. Shin Young-jae was a sidearm pitcher with a compact delivery. His velocity wasn't blazing, but he mixed his breaking stuff well to induce weak contact. For this camp, I suggested adding a circle changeup and focusing heavily on command.

Choi Tae-won concentrated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on bulking up. He already touched the high 140s in velocity with decent secondary pitches; maintaining his mechanics while boosting speed would make a real difference. The issue was mental toughness, which I hadn't figured out how to fix yet, so I offered steady advice.

Ha Min-young was similar. At 180 cm but only 63 kg, he lacked power for pitching despite his frame—apparently, he just didn't gain weight easily. We prioritized strength training. Unlike Choi Tae-won, his mentality was strong, so building his physique could elevate him further.

Lee Yang-hoon, with his solid build, focused on command. At over 190 cm, he worked to develop an overpowering, top-down delivery.

Evaluating the draft rookies during camp, Choi Sang-young stood out as the best starter option. That didn't mean Jeon Sang-hyuk and Shin Ha-jin were slouches—they'd both had elbow and shoulder surgeries in high school, so they needed careful management. Bullpens get taxed harder than starters sometimes, but I could handle that via status windows monitoring stamina.

Both had strong mental games, too, making them reliable in jams. In a normal setup, they could start, but our circumstances demanded flexibility. With Han Hyun-ho and Jo Sang-hoon out for surgery and Son Seung-hyuk lost to FA, the bullpen was a mess. Only Kim Hyun-se remained from the old closer duo.

Bolstering relief was essential. For Shin Ha-jin, even though his status window pegged him as an optimal starter, shifting him to the pen made sense—his potential and current ability screamed late-inning impact. Last season, starters had held the line while the bats piled up runs, diminishing the need for a dominant pen. But now, with Park Byung-hyun and Yoo Jun-han gone, the lineup had holes too.

Plus, moving from Mokdong Baseball Stadium to Gocheok Dome meant fewer homers like last year. So we drilled baserunning—steals and aggressive play—to fuel small-ball. We had plenty of speedsters, but we'd leaned on power parks before. The new stadium demanded a shift in our style.

This Arizona camp was our shot at reloading for next year.

. . .

The Arizona training held huge significance for us. We ran two intrasquad scrimmages mid-camp to gauge progress.

In the first starter matchup, Pierband and Coelho dueled through three innings. Pierband allowed 2 runs; Coelho gave up 5. Pierband's squad had better balance, so it tracked.

We balanced the squads as best we could, but Seo Geon-cheol and Kim Kang-jun's hot bats kept Blue Team ahead. Shin Young-jae followed for Blue; Lee Ji-seung for White.

Lee Ji-seung maintaining the score was no surprise. His velocity sharpened daily, command sharpened with it, and now he mixed in curveballs and circle changeups—a full-on monster. Kim Kang-jun was the only one hanging with him, going 1-for-2 with a hit and a strikeout, but the rest whiffed or grounded out.

Shin Young-jae held scoreless through six, flashing starter stuff. In the seventh, Jeon Sang-hyuk and Shin Ha-jin took the mound—I put the higher-upside arms on White to test them against Kim Kang-jun and Seo Geon-cheol.

Shin Ha-jin took a homer from Kim Kang-jun but was otherwise solid. Jeon Sang-hyuk coughed up 3 but nothing disastrous. Scores tied 5-5 after seven.

Eighth: Hwang Do-gyun for Blue, Min Jung-gil for White—both allowed 2. Regrettably, against the bottom of the order. Not like Jeon Sang-hyuk facing the heart.

We extended to the 13th to test more arms, slotting in Hong Gap-seong, Heo Jung-hyun, Song Mun-seong for defense and hitting reps. Our staff got live reps against big bats, which seemed to sharpen them—hitters were our strength outside a few spots.

Mid-camp scrimmage, then one at the end: clear growth across the board. Some hit my projections; others didn't. High potential didn't always explode immediately—some bloomed late. Current ability mattered most, but high-potential guys got an edge even at equal stats.

As manager, I audited my own abilities too. That wrapped primary camp. No external games—just pure development. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠With so many departures, rookies and vets needed growth first, proof later. I wanted max players peaking for the regular season.

After a month-plus in Arizona, we flew to Okinawa. Primary camp built skills; secondary would prove the 1st-team roster via scrimmages against five Korean pro teams and three Japanese ones. Front office had schedules set.

Arrival day: rest and loosen up. Then straight to games. First: Daegu Lions scrimmage. Shin Young-jae starting; prospects getting looks. Cleared it with Lions skipper Ryu Il-jung, who happily obliged—curious about my rookies amid the buzz.

We lost 7-4 to their 1st-team core, but 4 runs against that held value. Shin Young-jae: 3 runs through five, solid enough. Gains made.

Next, Yokohama BayStars (Japan): 4-3 thriller. Kang Jin-gwang's pinch-hit, three-run homer in the eighth sealed it.

His status window showed regretful gaps. Potential 68—elite—but low growth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠projection post-2014 ACL tear. Steady rehab could unlock more; I ordered it. His call on effort.

Follow-ups: Wins over Tokyo Swallows and Nagoya Dragons for a hot start.

March: Gwangju Tigers scrimmage. They'd finished 7th last year but were trending up—team to watch.