By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Olympic Tournament Shaping Up as Audition for Future Baseball Stars
Asia is widely considered as the major source for the next generation of top-flight baseball talent. And the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament in Taiwan is shaping up as an audition for blue-chip prospects, who might spur the next round of the Asian invasion in Major League Baseball (MLB).
South Korea, Japan and Taiwan will compete in next month's Olympic qualifiers that stake a spot in the Beijing Olympic tournament in which China is secured an automatic berth.
The second and third-place teams will have to prevail in a playoff series next March among global runner-ups to earn a ticket to Beijing.
Clinching an Olympic berth at the expense of its hated rivals would qualify as a monumental victory for South Korea, which takes regional bragging rights as seriously as any sporting nation.
The country still argues that it fielded a better team at last year's World Baseball Classic (WBC) than eventual champions Japan and the December tournament is thought as the stage to prove it, as well as avenge its embarrassing loss to Taiwan in the Doha Asian Games later that year.
In a tournament where every game is penciled as a must win, the quality of starting pitching could be a crucial factor. And no Korean pitcher is as good as 20-year-old Hanhwa Eagles lefty Ryu Hyun-jin, widely considered at the country's best pitching talent since a young Park Chan-ho.
The Two Ryus
Ryu took the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) by storm in his rookie season of 2006, when he accomplished a rare pitching triple crown by leading the league in wins (18), strikeouts (204) and ERA (2.23).
Ryu built on his impressive rookie campaign with a stellar sophomore season this year, going 17-7 with a 2.94 ERA while striking out 178.
Ryu, strongly built at 1.87 meters, 92 kilograms, has great command of his fastball that touches 150kmph, which he complements with an above-average changeup that drops towards the hands of left-handed hitters. He also throws an occasional curve and tends to overuse a slider that has little tilt.
Ryu, who becomes a free agent at 27, certainly has the talent to pitch in any league, especially if he could improve his secondary pitches. The problem with Ryu, however, is workload.
Despite his obvious talent, many teams were scared off from drafting Ryu, who went through elbow surgery on his pitching arm in his junior year of high school.
After pitching more than 200 innings in each of his first two seasons as a pro, Ryu has shown symptoms of tiring, failing to pitch through the second inning of a crucial playoff game against the Doosan Bears last month.
Adding further mileage through an offseason tournament might be a risky move for Ryu, although an Olympic medal might offer strong enough motivation as it would grant him exemption from compulsory military duty.
Ryu may be the country's top pitching talent, but it might be another Ryu who has better chances for a future in the majors.
Tampa Bay Rays prospect Ryu Jae-kuk is impressing South Korea manager Kim Kyung-moon with his pitching at the national team training camp in Okinawa, Japan.
Jae-kuk boasts a sinking fastball that sits around 147-150 kmph and also mixes an excellent curve, changeup and an occasional splitter. The 24-year-old, who could be dominant on days he throws his fastball for strikes, seems to have earned the confidence of the coaching staff to start against Japan, with the Eagles' Ryu taking the first match against Taiwan.
In limited appearances for the Rays this season, Jae-kuk went 1-2 with a 7.33 ERA. However, his numbers at Triple-A Durham were a more respectable 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA.
Among hitters, manager Kim has high hopes for Lotte Giants slugger Lee Dae-ho, who batted .335 with 29 home runs and 87 RBIs this season. With Bears third baseman Kim Dong-joo struggling, the 25-year-old is the only power threat on the team who could be counted to clinch a game on a single swing.
Star-studded Japan
It remains to be seen whether Hyun-jin would be drawn into a pitching duel with Japan's Yu Darvish in the Olympic tournament, which would match two of the region's top pitching prospects.
Darvish, the 21-year-old ace of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, went 15-5 with a 1.82 ERA this season to help deliver a Pacific League Crown to his team.
The 1.95-meter starter, who throws a fastball clocked around 150-154kmph and mixes an excellent curve, could trigger a Daisuke Matsuzaka-like bidding war among Major League teams should the Fighters decide to post him.
If not Darvish, the Koreans would likely face Chiba Lotte Marines lefty Yoshihisa Naruse, who went 16-1 with a 1.82 ERA this year. Naruse is not the power pitcher Darvish is, but has a quality assortment of pitches that he can all throw for strikes, giving up just 31 walks in more than 173 innings this season.
Hanshin Tigers closer Kyuji Fujikawa, Chunichi Dragons reliever Hitoki Iwase and Yomiuri Giants veteran Koji Uehara combine for a shutdown bullpen.
Japan also has an abundance of hitters who could kill opponents with their bats and speed on the bases. Tokyo Yakult Swallows centerfielder Norichika Aoki and Marines shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka are versatile players, who hit for both average and power and steal bases by a bunch.
Host Taiwan is depending that its pitching depth could prevail in the tournament. Pitchers Lin Ying Chieh and Lin Eu-yu, both playing for Japan's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, are likely to get the starting roles, with Seibu Lions' Hsu Ming Chieh penciled in as the savior from the bullpen.