"I'm confident in getting it right." A high school graduate has a batting average of 40% in Futures...2nd-tier camp MVP → April MVP Seok Kwon, 'Local Boy' Oh Seo-jin's reasonable run

"I'm confident in getting it right." A high school graduate has a batting average of 40% in Futures...2nd-tier camp MVP → April MVP Seok Kwon, 'Local Boy' Oh Seo-jin's reasonable run

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Will a new "local boy" myth be born in KT Wiz? Oh Seo-jin, a rookie infielder with a high school diploma, is sparking a new wind for KT.메이저놀이터

Oh Seo-jin is a "local boy" born and raised in Suwon. He graduated from Singok Elementary School, Suwon Bukjung, and Yushin High School, and was selected by KT as the 59th in the sixth round of the 2025 Rookie Draft. He has drawn attention since his high school days due to outstanding defense and excellent contact skills. His high school senior year record is 0.337 OPS of 0.838, with 29 hits and 15 steals in 23 games.

He displayed extraordinary performance from the spring camp. He was named the Futures League's spring camp MVP. Rumors say the field highly valued Oh's sincerity and potential to develop his skills.

He continued his career in the Futures League. Although he was a high school graduate, he quickly received an opportunity and displayed excellent contact skills. Initially, there were many comments that Oh Seo-jin stood out in defense. However, he showed off his batting average of 0.400 OPS 1.015 with 20 hits, one homer, one stolen base, and a batting average of 20 from 50 times at bat in 21 Futures League games. He also reported multi hits in five consecutive games from the game against Hanwha on April 19 to the game against Sangmu on April 25.

A KT official said, "He is a player with excellent static hit production capabilities such as contact and in-play. He also boasts stable defense capabilities, he said. "He is calm in personality. He shows calmness in training and games and shows no ups and downs."

Thanks to his stellar performance, Oh is currently training with pitcher Kim Jae-won in the first team through the Big Turtle Tour in May. The Big Turtle Tour is KT's program to foster promising players.

He was also selected as the MVP of the Futures League team in April. He beat Ahn Hyun-min (three homers, 13 RBIs and a batting average of 0.500) and Kim Gun-hyung (two homers, two steals, 15 RBIs and a batting average of 0.289).

Oh Seo-jin, who recently met My Daily, said, "I'm not a talented player in hitting, but I think I got a good result from the beginning because I thought, 'Let's turn it confidently from the first pitch'."

He is currently playing shortstop in the Futures League as an infield utility. "I'm confident as I've been playing shortstop since elementary school," Oh said. "I've enjoyed playing defense since I was young and received a lot of compliments. I'm confident and have the most fun when I'm playing defense now."

The ratio of walks and strikeouts is particularly noticeable. While striking out three in the second division, he drew five walks. Though a small sample, walks and strikeouts are records that stabilize the fastest. When he was a senior in high school, he also had eight strikeouts and nine walks from 112 at bat. Unless his strong inclination, good contact and vision are in harmony, he would not be able to achieve this result.

Oh Seo-jin explained, "As I try to hit the ball aggressively from the first pitch, I don't often go with a disadvantageous count. I hit it with the thought of 'let's get it right somehow' led to a good result."

He hit his first professional home run against NC on March 21. When asked about the situation at the time, he said, "It was my first game as a starter. I thought it was a really good experience because the opposing starter Mok Ji-hoon is a first-team pitcher," and "I hit it in my first at-bat and aimed for a breaking ball in my second at-bat, but it was caught well in front of me and went over." On this day, Oh Seo-jin had two hits, one home run, two runs and one RBI in three at-bats, and his playing time increased significantly from this game.

He has been known for his calmness since he was an amateur. "I have to be lively at baseball stadiums, but I haven't been able to do that yet. I'm going to change my personality," Oh said. "If I join the first team, I'd like to show you my energy and hard work."

When asked about his strengths, he said, "I'm most confident in defense. I think it's okay to hold it accurately and throw it accurately. He has good contact ability when hitting. I still lack power, so I'm going to hit boldly."

It is difficult to sustain his team with just one defense. What kind of efforts are he making to boost his batting performance? "I am confident in getting the ball right. If I eat a lot and build up my physique, won't I get faster and better results? I want to quickly build up my physique like a pro team player," Oh said. Based on his profile, Oh boasts a physique of 188 centimeters and weighs 80 kilograms. He currently weighs 78 kilograms. He lost weight after the start of the season.

He bowed his head to the fans, saying, "I will work hard and show you how I have grown up. I can't wait to show you how I play baseball at Suwon Baseball Stadium."

KT's main infielders are quite old. Hwang Jae-gyun was born in 1987, Kim Sang-soo and Heo Kyung-min were born in 1990, and Oh Yoon-seok was born in 1992. Jang Joon-won (born 1995), Chun Seong-ho (born 1997), Kwon Dong-jin (born 1998) and Kang Min-seong (born 1999) and Yoon Jun-hyuk (born 2001) are all trying hard to become the main players. Oh Seo-jin (born 2006) is expected to become the next batter. I look forward to the day when "Local Boy" commands the infield at Wizz Park.