Pitcher Scout Rotation

Hwang Ganggyeong's organs howled in protest, throwing up every barricade they had to keep that... thing that could barely be called food from getting any farther.

But then he remembered.

That's something his mother made for him.

I have to swallow it...!

Hwang Ganggyeong's brain crushed the uprising without mercy.

Gulp.

He barely forced the luminous teal shake down.

"Hyung, what's wrong? Does it not taste good?"

Choi Seungtaek asked it with cruel innocence, and Hwang Ganggyeong scrambled to deny the charge.

"No! That's not it! Urrrgh—"

The aftershock hit the instant the shake went down. His whole body shuddered whether he wanted it to or not.

"Hmm? It's getting hot out—why are you shivering like that? Are you a little cold?"

"No, I'm not cold. I'm fine."

He arranged his face into something as normal as he could manage, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching.

"Ah~ you're fine? Then I guess finishing the rest wouldn't be a problem."

"No, no. I can't drink all of a precious shake your mother made just for you."

He handed it back with the biggest smile he could fake.

Seungtaek tucked away the bottle he'd been holding and took the one Hwang Ganggyeong returned.

Ugh. I almost died.

The bizarre taste still coated Hwang Ganggyeong's mouth. He needed a minute to come back from it.

Huh?!

That was when Seungtaek started drinking what Hwang had left behind.

I have to drink it anyway—thanks for knocking a little off the volume!

He was genuinely grateful Hwang had taken a few big gulps for him.

Gulp.

Gulp.

The shake vanished so fast Hwang Ganggyeong's jaw dropped.

"Insane. You can actually drink that whole thing?"

Gulp.

"Hmm.... Yeah? Why?"

"No, no. Just talking to myself."

Seungtaek knocked it back like he'd gotten used to it, but he wasn't quite there yet.

Ah! Ugh. The aftershock—

Just as he started to tremble from the recoil, the head coach bellowed for Hwang Ganggyeong.

"Hwang! Gang! Gyeong! Get over here! We're doing infield drills—why are you the only one not showing up? You gonna get ready or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what?"

"Ah! Yes, sir. I'll get ready and be right there!"

By the time Hwang answered, Seungtaek had already shaken off the aftershock and was looking at him as if nothing had happened.

"You drank the whole thing? That's impressive."

Hwang Ganggyeong stared at him in amazement, then snatched up his glove.

"Alright, Seungtaek—I'm heading out first."

He started toward the dugout for defensive work.

"Seungtaek, a few guys came up from the second team today. I need you to catch some of their pitches."

"Yes, sir!"

A few new call-ups from the second team?

Seungtaek stashed the empty shake bottle in the locker room, grabbed his catcher's gear, and headed for the dugout himself.

The Magpies' pitching depth was razor-thin.

That was why they always grabbed the best arms first in the draft, and why their free-agent shopping always leaned toward pitchers. Even so, they couldn't always land the guys they wanted. Plenty of players had to sharpen their stuff in the second team before they ever made it to the first.

Today, Choi Seungtaek's job was to check the condition of those second-team pitchers who were supposedly ready to pitch in the first team. Before the evening game started, he needed to catch them—learn their preferred pitches, and get a real feel for their stuff, velocity, and command. That was how you made it through a week without headaches.

"Coach, I'm here."

"Oh, you made it?"

The Magpies' first-team pitching coach greeted him warmly.

"Man, ever since you came up, managing the pitchers has been a breeze."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, kid. Since you got here, the pitch counts are down, the relievers aren't eating as many innings. How great is that? The starters actually hold their innings, so it's been easy."

The week Seungtaek had returned to the first team, the core bullpen arms—Park Hyeok, Kwon Gyu-jin, and Yoon Jeong-jin—had each thrown eight innings.

Think that's a lot?

Even that was only because Russell had eaten nine innings on both Tuesday and Sunday, giving those three two days off. The week before Seungtaek came back, Russell had collapsed too, and Park Hyeok, Kwon Gyu-jin, and Yoon Jeong-jin had all been forced to throw more than ten innings that week.

A situation so absurd the bullpen was throwing more than the starters. Recalling it, Jung Cheol-min, the first-team pitching coach, looked at Seungtaek with genuine fondness.

"So who came up from the second team this time?"

"Damon, Shin Jeong-woo, and Lee Chung-seong."

Shin Jeong-woo.... Lee Chung-seong....

"Who do you want to see first?"

"I'll start with Shin Jeong-woo. He's a rookie same as me, right?"

"That's right. He's ready now, coming out of the second team."

The pitching coach called Shin Jeong-woo over first, and Seungtaek headed to the catcher's box.

Shin Jeong-woo—he was the pitcher we drafted in the second round this year.

Seungtaek looked at the rookie finally called up from the second team. Because Shin Jeong-woo had repeated a year, they were technically the same draft class, but he was a year older than Seungtaek.

"Jeong-woo, throw it hard."

"Yes, Coach."

Shin Jeong-woo's voice rang out, loud and crisp.

Whoosh—

Thwack.

Hiss—

Thwack.

Hmm? This is good.

Satisfied with the new call-up, Seungtaek opened the System.

What? He's improved?

The more Seungtaek analyzed players, the more information the System provided. Pitchers were graded on each ability now, too. Looking at the numbers, Shin Jeong-woo's tools looked solid.

He'd known some of this from the scouting reports, but catching the ball himself had adjusted the figures, and the pluses and minuses made each rating that much clearer.

Hmm. Really solid. We could give him a rotation spot and just leave him there. If it goes well, he could even push for the third-starter job.

"Okay, nice!"

Seungtaek nodded like he liked what he was seeing.

"How is he?"

"Good. I think we can give him a starter's spot."

"Right? His balance came together faster than we expected, so we called him up. The rotation's been all over the place, so this is a real load off."

The pitching coach was just as pleased as Seungtaek.

"Who should we call next?"

"How about Damon?"

"Damon?"

"Yes. Honestly, I'm curious. And if he's still not good today, it might be better to just swap him out sooner rather than later."

"Hmm.... You thought he was that bad?"

"Yes. For the team's sake, well...."

At Seungtaek's blunt assessment, the pitching coach hesitated a moment, then called Damon.

Hisssss—

Thwack!

The first pitch told Seungtaek everything. The pitching coach's face said the same thing.

We're screwed.

This is bad. We're going to have to replace him....

Yeah.... No. He's done. What you expect from a foreign starter is a number one or two. This is a four or five. He came up after supposedly getting his form back, and this is it? Ha.... I'm going to lose my mind.

After a few more pitches, Seungtaek looked at the coach with even more certainty.

"You thinking the same thing?"

"Yes. The sooner we replace him, the better."

"Hmm.... I know, but good foreign pitchers don't grow on trees. Can we use him as the starter tomorrow?"

"I'll try to get him through the order once. From the fourth on, I don't know. Can't we just drop him to four or five?"

The pitching coach seemed to share the thought; he shook his head.

"That's the manager's call. Next pitcher."

"Yes, sir!"

Then Seungtaek saw another young pitcher walk in.

Lee Chung-seong.

A Gwangju Hana High product whose mechanics looked like Yoo Jin-hyun's—currently pitching in the majors. The Magpies had expected a lot from him.

Hmm.... And he's only just coming up from the second team to the first?

"Throw it!"

A nod.

Lee Chung-seong threw to Seungtaek.

Hisss—

Pop.

Hmmm....

Hisss—

Pop.

Can't.... Can't be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bothered?

Seungtaek stared at Lee Chung-seong with an incredulous look.

The organization's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠running just great.

He figured Lee Chung-seong had the same kind of serious problem Damon did.

There's no will in the ball. Stuff, velocity, command—all in the gutter. And they called him up thinking they could use him?

Seungtaek gave the pitching coach a small shake of the head. The coach nodded back.

"No good, huh?"

"No."

"But we have to use him."

"We have to use him?"

"Looks like they're going to trade him. They probably called him up for a showcase. He's the key piece, so... think you can dress him up a little?"

Hah....

Seungtaek didn't like it, but it seemed better than the alternative, so he nodded.

"I'll try."

If he already found out he's getting traded... yeah, that could kill a guy's will.

Trades weren't everyday occurrences in pro baseball, but they usually happened at the club's discretion, not the player's. Hearing you'd been traded out of nowhere could suck the life right out of you.

"So Shin Jeong-woo's the only one we actually landed?"

"Looks that way."

"Then let's get the starters throwing."

"Yes, sir."

The Magpies' number-two starter, Oh Myeongwol, came over.

"Seungtaek."

"Yes!"

"Let's have a good one today."

Hisss—

Thwack!

"That's good."

Hisss—

Thwack.

"Nice!"

Hisssss—

Pop.

Seungtaek felt a suddenly lifeless ball land in his glove.

Huh?

Something felt off. He looked at Oh Myeongwol.

Another injury?