The right-handed starter was sent down to the Futures (second team) after an extremely poor outing. Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung was not pleased with his first start in the Futures League.

Na Gyun-ahn started the Futures League game against the NC Dinos at Masan Stadium in Changwon on May 5, giving up two runs on five hits, one walk, and six strikeouts in five innings.

He threw a total of 86 pitches until the fifth inning. His fastball topped out at 143 mph (averaged 140 mph) and he mixed in a curveball, cutter, and forkball. His strike rate was 73.3%. His most utilized fastball (38) had a strike rate of 81.6%.

In 11 games this season, Na has just one win (7 losses) and an 8.27 ERA. After earning his first win of the season against KT Wiz on April 21, he went winless in six games with four losses and an ERA of 11.41. He was eventually designated for assignment on May 30 after giving up seven runs in 3⅓ innings against Hanwha. Commentator Lee Soon-cheol, who watched the game, said, “He doesn't have any power on his pitches and his control is poor.”

His aggressive pitching in his first start for the Futures was encouraging.

In response, 카지노사이트 Kim said, “It's not about the results you get in the Futures, it's not about your record.” "It's about your heart. You have to see how you feel when you throw the ball. The same goes for Choi Jun-yong (who was recently expunged from the first team)."

Na made his professional debut as a catcher before fracturing the metacarpal bone in his left hand ahead of the 2020 season, and while his transition to the mound was met with mixed reviews, he made his first-team debut the following year and continued to show promise, going 6-8 with a 3.80 ERA in over 130 innings as a full-time first-team starter last year. This season, he was expected to be a mainstay in Lotte's starting rotation, but he fell far short of that expectation.

Still, Lotte has high hopes for Na Gyun-an. After Park Se-woong, Barnes, and Wilkerson, the team doesn't have a lot of starting options. If Na Gyun-ahn, the obvious starting card, can perform as well as he did last year, it will make Kim's mound planning easier.

Kim has made it clear that mindset is more important than talent when it comes to returning to the first team. The ball is now in Na's court.