“I want to throw really few pitches and finish with three batters.”

A graduate of Cheongdam High School, Ryu joined SSG Landers with the 75th overall pick in the eighth round of the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft. In May, he appeared on JTBC’s baseball entertainment program “Choi Gang Baseball” and made headlines when he pitched a clean first inning against the Choi Gang Baseball Monsters.

The right-handed sidearm has appeared in eight games in the Futures League this season, posting a record of 1-0 with one hold, nine innings pitched, five runs (five earned), seven hits (one home run), three walks and seven strikeouts. His primary pitch is a two-seam fastball. He also has a slider and a changeup.

Initially, Ryu wasn’t a two-seam fastball pitcher. “Until high school, it was the pitch I threw when I didn’t really have anything to throw,” he said. But once he turned pro, he increased his use of the two-seam fastball.

“When (Lee) Jae-won came down to the second team and threw the first ball, I threw a lot of two-seam fastballs for the first time. Jae-won told me that he couldn’t hit if he only threw two-seam fastballs. I threw only two-seam fastballs in that game and the results were good, so I increased the proportion of two-seam fastballs,” he said. 안전놀이터

“When I came to the pros, I threw a four-seam fastball, but it was too straight. The two-seam fastball would come and go, and there was no difference in velocity. After that, I increased the proportion of the two-seam fastball,” he added.

Ryu Hyun-gon, who is currently serving as a bullpen pitcher, recently revealed that he is pitching like he did when he finished runner-up in last year’s Golden Lion. “I feel like I’m pitching like I did in the Golden Lion. If it’s outside, it’s outside, if it’s out, it’s out, and if it’s in, it’s in. I put it all together in one inning, so I keep getting out of innings with three batters,” he said.

Ryu said one of the things he’d most like to do in the big leagues is record a triple play with fewer pitches. “I think it’s good to finish with just three batters with really few pitches,” he said. “The ball is fast, but I want to keep putting it in the strike zone and finish with three batters, rather than getting it out of the strike zone.”