The Hanwha Eagles have been collecting "fireballer" type pitchers in recent years in the rookie draft.

The best example is Moon Dong-ju. He was the first pick in the 2022 rookie draft and joined the Hanwha Eagles. In his first year since debut, Moon has posted an ERA of 5.65 with 13 games, one win, three losses and two holds.스포츠토토

His first full-fledged performance started in his second year. Moon became the starting pitcher of his team and pitched 118 ⅔ innings in 23 games. He won eight games and lost eight games with an ERA of 3.72. After the season's end, he won the Rookie of the Year award at various award ceremonies including the KBO League Awards.

Kim Seo-hyun became an eagle corps member with the first overall pick in the first round of the 2023 rookie draft. He had ups and downs in his debut season. He had one save and a 7.25 ERA in 20 games without winning or losing.

The team did not perform as well as expected in the first half of the 2024 season. However, Kim started to turn the tables in the second half. Since Kim took the helm of the team, he has gained confidence and posted 26 hits, 17 runs (14 earned runs) and 39 strikeouts in 31 ⅓ innings in 31 games from July to September. He did not have a single homer.

They are both right-handed pitchers. They also signed a 500 million won contract with Hanwha when they joined the team.

Crucially, he has thrown balls with a speed of more than 160 kilometers per hour on the professional stage. On July 19 last year, Moon threw a fastball of 160.7 kilometers against Na Sung-bum at the KIA Tigers. Kim Seo-hyun had posted a maximum speed of 160.7 kilometers per hour on May 11 last year at the Samsung Lions match.

A rookie pitcher who has similar expectations in 2025 is joining the Hanwha Eagles. It is right-handed Jung Woo-joo.

First of all, Jung Woo-joo signed a 500 million won contract, the same amount as Moon Dong-joo and Kim Seo-hyun. Hanwha announced in September last year that Jung Woo-joo, a high school pitcher who was nominated as the first rounder and second overall, signed a contract worth 500 million won, the highest amount in his team.

Along with Moon Dong-ju and Jung Woo-ju, Jung is also expected to achieve the so-called "160-km trio." Jung Woo-ju, a high school graduate, has been famous as a pitcher who throws light balls in the mid to late 150km/h range since his high school days.

He also showed off his overwhelming pitching capability and displayed good performance. At the 2024 high school baseball games, Jung had four wins, one loss, 80 strikeouts and 27 walks with an ERA of 1.24 in 16 ⅔ and 45 innings. Notably, Jung was mentioned as the No. 1 candidate in the overall draft along with Chung Hyeon-woo (Kium Heroes), who threw 156 kilometers in official speed and 157 kilometers in unofficial ball speeds.

Hanwha's general manager Son Hyuk also pointed out the advantages after nominating Jung Woo-joo. "Jung Woo-joo's fastball is a ball that you can't have just by learning," Son said.

At the time, Jung Woo-joo said, "I want to grow into a starting pitcher with an average speed of over 150 kilometers," but expressed his ambition, saying, "My goal is to throw more than 160 kilometers." "If I exercise hard, I think I can throw as much as my goal," he added.

Jung Woo-joo, who is participating in the first team camp, is displaying remarkable pitching in good condition during preparation for the 2025 season. He posted a maximum speed of 154 kilometers in the first Australian camp. At the second camp, which is currently underway in Okinawa, Japan, he displayed a fastball of 152 kilometers through actual matches.

It is expected that Chung will be used in various ways. Sohn previously evaluated Jung Woo-joo as a pitcher who will display perfect pitching performance no matter where he starts or goes to the bullpen.

Hanwha plans to establish a starting rotation with foreign pitchers Ryan Weiss and Cody Ponce and native pitchers Ryu Hyun-jin, Moon Dong-ju and Um Sang-baek this season. However, there is a good chance that Jung Woo-joo will take the mound as a starting pitcher in some cases including injuries or sluggish performances.