Lee Ju-hyung, 22, has emerged as a potential starter in left field for the Wuzhou Communist Kiwoom Heroes.

Formerly with the LG Twins, Lee was traded to Kiwoom on March 29. LG sent Lee Ju-hyung, rookie right-hander Kim Dong-gyu, and a 2024 first-round draft pick in exchange for starting pitcher Choi Won-tae.

Lee was named to Kiwoom’s starting lineup (7th outfielder-left fielder) against the Samsung Lions on the day of the transfer. When he stepped up to bat in the bottom of the third inning, he was nervous enough to take off his helmet and bow his head until he heard the opposing catcher, Kang Min-ho, say, “You should greet the home fans.” He then hit a clean single up the middle against pitcher David Buchanan.

The next day (July 30), Lee started in the sixth spot in the lineup for Samsung Electronics. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, he hit a home run off opposing starter Baek Jung-hyun. It was caught by Samsung’s center fielder Kim Hyun-jun, but it was a big hit. In the sixth inning, with two outs, he hit a triple down the left field line.

Only Ronnie Dawson (center field) and Lee Hyung-jong (right field) are fixed in the Kiwoom outfield. Younger players like Park Chan-hyuk and Lim Byung-wook are competing for the starting left field job. Kiwoom is likely to give Lee the starting job for the time being. That’s the only way to rationalize the team’s choice. For now, Lee has played very well in the first two games. Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki expressed his satisfaction, saying, “I only see the positives.”

Lee was a prospect selected by LG in the second round (13th overall) of the 2020 Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) Rookie Draft. Lee Ho-joon, the LG batting coach who coached Lee, praised his clean hitting mechanics and told him to “never change his batting stance.” Lee hadn’t realized his potential until now. 안전놀이터

Lee has yet to fulfill his potential. The outfield of the LG first team was too thick. The move to Kiwoom is an opportunity for Lee to shine. LG captain Oh Ji-hwan said to Lee as he was packing up his things after the transfer was confirmed, “I think we should congratulate him, not comfort him. Better opportunities will be open to you.”

“I’m sorry to the Kiwoom fans that a rookie-level player like me and (Kim) Dong-gyu came instead of an ace-level pitcher (Choi Won-tae),” Lee said, “but I want to give them the impression that I’m a ‘good player’ instead of a ‘hard player.’ I need to improve my physical fitness. I will do twice as well as I did when I played for LG,” he said.