Will Lotte Giants' first-round outfielder Cho Se-jin (21) get a chance in the first team of the 2025 season?

Cho was an outfielder who had been in the spotlight since his high school days. When he was a junior in high school, he hit hard with a batting average of 0.506 (40 hits in 79 times at bat), five homers, 25 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.463 in 22 games. Cho, who had outstanding slugging ability, was named the 2022 draft outfielder's biggest fish.메이저놀이터

The club that embraces Cho was Lotte. Lotte drafted Cho with the fourth overall pick in the second round and first round of the 2022 rookie draft. It was the first time in three years that Lotte picked a fielder in the second round after choosing Ko Seung-min in the 2019 rookie draft.

Contrary to expectations, he did not display satisfactory performance in his first year as a pro baseball player. As franchise star Son Ah-seop moved to the NC Dinos, he started playing right field, but revealed his limitations. Cho had a batting average of 0.186 with six RBIs and an OPS of 0.416, in 39 games during the 2022 season. It was comforting to see that he had potential with a batting average of 0.351 with seven homers and 34 RBIs and an OPS of 0.973 in 52 games in the Futures League.

Jo, who applied to the Sangmu Baseball Team for military service after the end of the 2022 season, passed the final round. Jo joined the military in May last year and played the entire 2023 season at Sangmu. After failing to become the starting member of Sangmu, Jo recorded a batting average of 0.214 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and an OPS of 0.616 in 30 games in the 2023 season.

The 2024 season also failed to provide a turning point. The first half was not bad. Cho, who hit seven home runs in the first half, was selected as the Nambu All-Star in the Futures League All-Star Game. He hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning in the Futures League All-Star Game held on July 5. Cho was named the Futures All-Star MVP as the Nambu All-Star won 5-1.

He displayed his slugging capability in the first half without reservation, but lost momentum in the second half. Cho lost his batting sense by hitting a homer in the second half. He increased his batting average from 0.254 in the first half to 0.261, but failed to hit a homerun, which was regrettable. Cho's final performance in the 2024 season was 0.26154 with an OPS of 0.776 in 93 games.

Cho Se-jin, who was discharged from military service in Sangmu on the 7th, returned to Lotte, but it is not certain whether he will receive a chance in the first division next season. Lotte has some outfield. Hwang Sung-bin and Yoon Dong-hee became Lotte's main outfielders last season. If Victor Reyes, who broke the KBO League record of most hits (202 hits), succeeds in renewing his contract, Cho's position will be even narrower.