MLB Senior Analyst “Lee Jung-hoo Hits a Home Run at 177 km/h, A Fantastic Start”
“Lee Jung-hoo, who has been recognized for his contact skills, is also above the MLB average in making fast balls.”
Lee Jung-hoo's (25, San Francisco Giants) home run, which flew at a speed of 109.7 miles per hour (about 177 km), for the first time in an exhibition game in the Major League Baseball (MLB), also caught the attention of MLB senior analyst Jake Mintz.
On the 6th (Korean time), Mintz analyzed the meaning of Lee Jung-hoo's first home run by listing 'new discoveries from exhibition game data' that he contributed to Yahoo.com in the US.
In the top of the third inning of an away exhibition game against the Arizona Diamondbacks held at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA on the 1st, Lee Jung-hoo hit a 152.4 km/h fastball from Line Nelson with no runners on base and over the right-center wall with two outs. 안전 슬롯사이트
According to MLB Statcast, Lee Jung-hoo's home run flew 127.4 meters at 177 kilometers per hour.
The launch angle was low at 18 degrees.
Mintz said, “Actually, performance in exhibition games doesn’t mean much.
However, with pitching and batted ball tracking technology, we can now find meaningful data even in exhibition games.”
He then introduced, “Lee Jung-hoo, who signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco, is one of MLB’s most fascinating mystery boxes this year,” and added, “Lee Jung-hoo has the defensive skills to be considered a Gold Glove candidate.”
He is evaluated as having excellent contact skills.
However, some people doubt whether Lee Jung-hoo, who was the KBO League's Most Valuable Player (MVP), can be competitive in MLB," he said, expressing various opinions surrounding Lee Jung-hoo.
The basis provided by experts who are skeptical of Lee Jung-hoo is 'lack of slugging ability.'
First of all, Lee Jung-hoo proved his contact ability by recording a batting average of 0.462 (6 hits in 13 at-bats) in MLB exhibition games as of the 6th.
In addition, he stole the heart of MLB's chief analyst with his bullet-like home run.
Mintz said, "The 109.7 miles per hour home run that Lee Jung-hoo hit on the 1st means that his 'ability to make fast balls' is at least the MLB average.
He is classified as a productive hitter such as Jose Altuve, Dansby Swanson, and Bryson Stott.
He pointed out, “Even players who could hit balls this fast were not able to hit this fast last year.”
He explained, "Lee Jung-hoo has the task of consistently making fast batted balls and sending fast balls higher, but the 109.7 mph home run he showed in the exhibition game can be seen as a 'fantastic start.'"
Jake Mintz wasn't just optimistic.
He said, "Lee Jung-hoo is a hitter who can hit a batting average of 0.300 right now, but the weak San Francisco lineup may have a negative impact on Lee Jung-hoo," and "Lee Jung-hoo's first home run in an exhibition game is a hit that can go over the outfield wall in 29 MLB stadiums, but "It cannot be a home run in San Francisco's home stadium (deep in right-center field).
If Lee Jung-hoo is to meet the expectations placed on him, he must show more," he added.
MLB.com also paid attention to the longer-than-expected slugging ability that Lee Jung-hoo showed.
On the 5th, MLB.com selected Lee Jung-hoo's 'consecutive at-bat hard hits' as third among '12 standout figures from this year's exhibition games'.
Lee Jung-hoo hit a double at 99.7 miles per hour (approximately 160.4 km) in the first inning on the 1st, and then hit a home run with a faster ball in the third inning.
MLB.com said, "San Francisco's key additional force, 2022 KBO League MVP Lee Jung-hoo, set a preview for 2024.
In his first at-bat, he sent a batted ball into an empty space in the outfield for a double, and in his next at-bat, he sent a batted ball out of the wall."
It highlighted Lee Jung-hoo, who hit two extra-base hits in one game.