Dodgers sign major Korean pitching prospect
Nov 7, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman addresses the media at a press conference at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers have landed a top international prospect.
South Korean pitcher Hyun-seok Jang has agreed to a contract with the Dodgers, the right-hander’s agency announced on Wednesday. Jang, who is 19, will receive a $900,000 signing bonus as an international free agent.
Daniel Kim first reported the news on Monday that the Dodgers were on the verge of signing Jang.
Jang was expected to be the first overall pick in the Korean Baseball Organization draft, but he announced last week that he was skipping the KBO draft in pursuit of an MLB opportunity.
“It was a tough decision for me because I dreamed of pitching both in the KBO and MLB,” Jang said in a statement, per The Korea Times. “But ultimately, I wanted to challenge myself in the best league in the world and decided to take a crack at MLB.”
Jang is 3-0 with a 0.33 ERA in seven appearances in his final high school season. You can see how nasty some of his pitches are in the video below:
This is MASSIVE NEWS
Jang Hyun-Seok was expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the KBO Draft
Only 19 years old https://t.co/pywil9LPfu pic.twitter.com/zH0dF454Yf
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) August 7, 2023
The Dodgers have had several South Korean players throughout their team’s history. Chan Ho Park, who pitched for the team from 1994-2001 and again in 2008, was the first South Korea-born player in MLB history. Former first baseman Hee-seop Choi played for the Dodgers in 2004 and 2005. Left-handed pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu pitched for L.A. for several seasons before signing with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019.
