Mike Salas
The Dodgers number fifteen top prospect Hyun-Seok Jang made his pro debut with the Single-A Dodgers Affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes last night.
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed the Korean high school prodigy August 14, 2023, in Seoul Korea, 5 days after agreeing to an international signing bonus of $900,000. Insiders stated that Jang could have been the No.1 pick in the KBO draft, but after a lot of thought he chose to follow his dream of playing the MLB.
Jang went to Masan Yongma High School in South Korea and was considered to be the best high school pitcher. In high school he had a devasting fastball that topped out at 90 mph and sharp slider. Jang held an ERA of 1.85, struck out 102 batters in 68 ⅓ innings and was the youngest player to be selected to the Korean International Team.
Jang was assigned to the ACL Dodgers after Spring Training and helped them win the Cactus League Championship at the end of July this year Jang named the game one starter and pitched 3.0IP / 0ER / 1BB / 8K.
Unfortunately, his first start with Rancho didn’t last too long. Jang pitched 1.1IP / 2H / 3ER / 2BB / 3K and was pulled after the fourth batter in the second inning. Jang’s first innings was impressive, he got a ground out and struck out two batters with a 96 and 98 mph four-seam fastball.
Even though Jang didn’t have the best debut, he does have tremendous upside. Jang brings a 96mph four seam fastball, a hard 87mph slider, and 82mph curveball. He also has 86mph changeup that will need some work as it’s not as advanced as his other pitches. Scouting grades: Fastball 60 / Curveball 60 / Slider 60 / Changeup 50 / Control 50 / Overall 45.
I look forward to seeing how Jang learns from his debut and what changes the Quakes pitching staff makes for his next start.
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