The home turf of SSG Landers is already hot. Among them, the most notable is catcher Lee Yul-ye (18) who was named by SSG for the first time in the first round of the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft.스포츠토토

His talent has been recognized to the extent that it is doubtful that a catcher with a high school diploma has been praised in defense over the past 10 years. Gangneung High School coach Jaeho Choi (63), who graduated from Dongwon Middle School in South Gyeongsang Province, chose Lee Yul-yea, a high school baseball legend. He has displayed outstanding pitching leads and game management by wearing a catcher mask since he was in fifth grade. His ability to block any breaking ball, strong shoulders in the late 1.8 seconds range of pop time at second base, and his more accurate throwing to the computer stood out.

Recognizing his talent early on, Jaeho Choi took Lee Yul-yea to the 2022 U-18 national team, where he was the coach. Lee, who received good evaluations there, also served as the main catcher even though he was a sophomore in the 2023 U-18 national team. At this year's Asian Youth Baseball Championship, he was the main catcher and even the captain, leading Korea to the bronze medal. It was the first time since Kim Hyung-joon (25) of the current NC Dinos that he played as the main catcher for the U-18 national team.

KBO scouts recalled the childhood of Kang Min-ho (39, Samsung Lions) in the excellent catcher's defense. Finally, in the second Hanwha Eagles high school and college All-Star Game held in June, he recognized his talent by presenting a commemorative ball with the phrase "the commander of the ground, KBO-class defense."

I wondered if the evaluation of being the best in high school would continue in the professional league. In particular, the battery coaches for SSG's first and second teams are from the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), such as Yuji Serizawa (56) and Fumihiro Suzuki (49), so a more sober assessment was expected. Coach Suzuki has been watching Lee Yul-ye in reinforcement since the nomination of the rookie, and coach Serizawa marked closely at the closing camp held in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, for 31 days from October 29 to November 28.

The result was a series of favorable reviews. A source from SSG told Star News over the phone recently, "There were rumors that Lee Yul-yea could be used in the first team immediately next year. He received good reviews even among strict Japanese battery coaches. He said he was particularly surprised in terms of game leading." "Recently, a rookie catcher with a high school diploma has been given good reviews in the first team, which reminds me of Kim Hyung-joon even in the entire team. While Kim received good reviews in overall areas such as excellent shoulder and long-range hitting tools, Lee received high praise in overall defense."

Rumors have it that he quickly identified the traits of players in the first team and started practicing. SSG scouts have also paid attention to this area. "He was good at quickly identifying pitchers who were not familiar with interest rates and running games," said Kim Jae-hyun, the general manager of SSG. "He is a catcher who can catch such fast players in modern baseball, where speed is important going forward."

"If you look at five or five or 10 pitches a pitcher sees for the first time, you can see the quality of pitches and other things," Lee said at the draft site. Still, actual pitching and practice pitching are very different from each other, and while playing together, you can see the pitcher's confident pitching style and disposition. "This is one of my biggest strengths."

The key is hitting. Lee had a batting average of 0.341 (71 hits in 208 at-bats) in 74 games in high school, three homers, 41 RBIs and 58 runs, and an on-base percentage of 0.462 OPS of 0.932. As a senior, he also had a career-high season of batting average of 0.391 (27 hits in 69 at-bats), two homers and 16 RBIs in 23 games, and an on-base percentage of 0.527 and an on-base percentage of 0.536. Nonetheless, some KBO scouts expressed negative opinions, saying that the batting mechanism must be concise in order to hit professional fastballs.

However, SSG's analysis suggests that the team can make sufficient improvement as well. Jihoon Choi (27), who had been evaluated as struggling with fastballs before the nomination, quickly became a member of the top team after rigorous training and training. Above all, Lee Yul-ye's physical strength and professionalism made the team look forward to future development.

"Players who usually come to the wrap-up camp cannot keep up with players in the same defense training as players in the first team. Rookie players have not yet fully grown up and cannot endure through the physical strength they developed as amateurs. Lee Yul-ye was different, however. He already demonstrated his physical strength and willpower to follow the tight schedule of the first team starting from next year's spring camp. He was already a professional mentally," a source at the SSG said.

Lee is already preparing for the 2025 season by conducting high-intensity weight training based on trial and error in the closing camp. "I felt that I had a lot of things to supplement through the closing camp. I had a lot to complete in detail when it comes to defense and I realized that I lacked in hitting," Lee said after receiving the catcher's award at the 8th Lee Man-soo and home run award ceremony recently. "I think my goal has become a little more clear," Lee said. "I want to become No. 1 in baseball. I'm still thinking of quickly joining the top team by showing good performances in the spring camp."