outlookindia321   Album Posted May.9th, 2024, viewed 54 times

The 2024 FA (Free Agent) market is still in full swing, but attention is also being paid to the 2025 FA market, which will be held at the end of next year.

Among them, there is one who is considered the biggest FA fish, and it is Ko Young-pyo (32, KT), a submarine pitcher representing Korea.

After graduating from Gwangju Daesung Elementary School, Gwangju Dongseong Middle School, Hwasun High School and Dongkuk University, Ko joined the KT Wiz uniform as the 10th overall pick in the first round of the second rookie draft in 2014. He will become a professional player in his 11th year next year.

Ko Young-pyo, a founding member of KT Wiz, continues to play as a KT one-club man. In the early days of his career, Ko was a pitcher who did not receive the same attention as he is now. After graduating from Hwasun High School, he headed to the university stage without receiving a professional nomination. After playing as the leading player in Dongguk University's three championships in 2013, he joined KT in the 2014 season.

He didn't throw the ball to the starting pitcher from the beginning. He made his debut in the first division in 2015, recording three wins, four losses and an earned run average of 5.68. He mostly pitched in the bullpen.

Until the 2018 season, Ko had a five-point ERA for four consecutive seasons. After posting two wins, four losses and five holds with a 5.59 ERA in the 2016 season, he started pitching in earnest in the 2017 season. In the same year, he posted eight wins, 12 losses and one hold with a 5.08 ERA. In the 2018 season, he posted six wins, nine losses and a 5.13 ERA, respectively.

Having postponed his enlistment, Ko could not join the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games team in 2018 unfortunately. After all, Ko, who fulfilled his mandatory military duty as a social service worker, is proud of himself and has won double-digit wins for three consecutive years from the 2021 season to this season. Now he has established himself as a representative pitcher of Korea. He pitched in 231 games and recorded 55 wins and 50 losses with a total ERA of 3.97. During a total of 920 ⅔ innings, he recorded 997 hits (61 homers), 148 walks, and 439 runs (406 earned) in ball 778 strikeouts.

Ko has displayed stellar performance in this season as well. He pitched in 28 games (27 starts) with 12 wins and seven losses and an earned run average of 2.78. A total of 174 ⅔ innings, he allowed 181 hits (seven homers), 19 walks, 114 strikeouts and 57 runs (54 earned) with the WHIP at 1.15 runs, and a hit rate of 0.269. He has pitched 21 times in quality starts (six innings and three earned runs or less) that he aims for in each game.

Now Ko will become the first player to become an FA after completing the 2024 season. With Eom Sang-baek, Shim Woo-joon (KT), Choi Won-tae (LG), Choi Jung, Seo Jin-yong (SSG), Kim Won-joong, Koo Seung-min (Lotte), Lim Ki-young, Jang Hyun-sik (Kia), and Lim Jung-ho (NC) expected to become an FA player, Ko is already considered one of the biggest players in the FA market. A valuable native starter in the league. On top of that, Ko's change-up, which boasts the value of one of the best pitching players in the league, and integrity. Above all, Ko's strength is his accurate ball control, such as a computer, the biggest virtue of a pitcher.

Even in the industry, Ko has no hesitation in picking him as the FA's biggest fish for next year. "These days, even if he has a solid third starter from Korea, he is considered a candidate for the championship," said the team's general manager. A pitcher as young as Ko is is is considered to have a multi-year contract worth more than 10 billion won (approx. Although he is quite old, in recent years, players in their early 30s have maintained their skills and skills until their late 30s. "Go Young-pyo also proved his durability without any serious injury," he said.

Despite the fact that different clubs have salary caps, ace-class starters are continuously hitting jackpots in the market. In October last year, the Lotte Giants signed a five-year non-FA multi-year contract with native starter Park Se-woong for a total of 9 billion won (7 billion won in annual salary, 2 billion won in options). In December, the NC Dinos signed a seven-year non-FA multi-year contract with Koo Chang-mo for up to 13.2 billion won (if his FA qualification fails after the end of the 2024 season). Then, is there a possibility that Ko Young-pyo will sign a long-term contract? In response, KT's general manager Na Do-hyun told Star News, "We also need to talk with our superiors. We have many ideas open."

Ko's annual salary for the 2023 season is 430 million won. Attention is also focusing on his 2024 salary. After all, the FA market is driven by the rules of supply and demand. Depending on his performance in the 2024 season, Ko's value could soar further.
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