Rather than joining the KBO League, the contract for Shim Jun-seok (19), who chose to challenge the major leagues immediately, is imminent. Amid rumors that a trip to Pittsburgh is likely, what is now attracting attention is the size of the down payment.

Revenge officials who are familiar with amateur baseball circumstances are unanimous in their mouths that “Shim Jun-seok’s contract is imminent.” It was already predicted that the point of contract would be around this time. The major league international player contract bonus pool is initialized on January 15 each year, and each club signs players by dividing this reset limit. In some cases, it is rumored that there are cases where a pre-order is made in advance and only the contract is progressed at this point.

In the 2023 international player rankings announced by the official Major League Baseball website (MLB.com) in November of last year, Shim Jun-seok ranked second among pitchers and 10th overall. The MLB.com article refers to the evaluation of local scouts to a large extent, and it turns out that Shim Jun-seok received a fairly positive report. He has a shoulder that can throw more than 150 km per hour at any time in the condition of a sturdy physique, and here, he got a high score evenly for the possibility of growth.

If so, how much is Shim Jun-seok’s down payment? Here, the initial views of the officials were mixed. Those closer to the situation on the local side believe that the amount will exceed 1 million dollars, citing the fact that there are not as many large-scale pitchers as expected in the international player contract market and the bargaining power of Boras Corporation. On the contrary, people close to the KBO league see the atmosphere of last summer as “we cannot guarantee that it will exceed 1 million dollars.”

How about when you look at the precedent? International contracts have been the strength of fielders, or central infielders to be exact, in recent years. In the case of 2021, the top 10 international prospects selected by MLB.com were all fielders at the time. The top 10 in 2022 were all beasts. In 2023, Cuban Luis Morales (5th overall) and Shim Jun-seok were included in the TOP 10, but it’s been quite a while since pitchers ranked in the top ranks like this.

The actual contract money was also taken by beasts according to the ranking. Looking at the contract status, you can see that the pitchers have struggled quite a bit. The highest international contract in 2021 was Cuban-born Pedro Leon, who signed with Houston for $4 million. The highest paid pitcher was Cuban Norge Vera (White Sox) with $1.5 million, and he was the only pitcher to receive more than $1 million. Vera was 20th in the MLB.com rankings at the time.

In 2022, Christian Vaquero (Washington), who was considered one of the biggest players, received $4.9 million and Roderick Arias (New York Yankees) received $4 million to form the top two. Also, both are beasts. The highest ever paid by a pitcher was $1.7 million by Susana, who was cut (San Diego), who was ranked 31st overall in the MLB.com rankings last year. There was only one pitcher that exceeded $1 million.안전놀이터

In conclusion, looking at the trend of contracts over the last 2-3 years, pitchers have been evaluated inferior to fielders. Invitations to more than 2 million dollars seem impossible. Instead, top-tier pitchers received contracts that far exceeded $1 million. It is possible to carefully predict that the signing contracts of Morales and Shim Jun-seok, who are selected as the best pitchers this year, will also exceed 1 million dollars. It is also of interest how each club will distribute the bonus pool.