The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on Friday that it will send Samsung Lions right-handed pitcher Kim Sung-kyung (24) and infielder Lee Chang-yong (25) to the second half of the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
Kim Sung-kyung and Lee Chang-yong will play a total of 45 games from Aug. 15 to Sept. 6 for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
The MLB Draft League was created by MLB in 2021 to analyze and develop prospects, with a total of six teams playing 80 games per team.
MLB uses high-tech equipment such as Trackman and Rhapsodo to measure players’ data and share it with scouting teams from each MLB organization.
The Draft League has produced 133 MLB draft picks over the past three years.
Lee said he hopes to “learn a lot and grow into the hitter the team wants” through the Samsung organization.
“I want to learn how to throw the ball confidently in the MLB Draft League,” said Kim Sung-kyung.
Lee joined Samsung through the 2021 Rookie Draft and appeared in five games with the first team this season, batting .154.
Kim Sung-kyung, a rookie pitcher who joined the team through the 2024 Rookie Draft, has an unusual story: He quit baseball as an amateur due to an injury and went on to play social baseball at Songwon University before turning pro.
This is the first time a KBO player will participate in the MLB Draft League. 파워볼게임