The KBO League, which opened on March 23, is also nearing its end. Five clubs have already finished their regular league schedules, and only the NC Dinos have two games left, and the remaining four clubs also have only the final game of the season. However, depending on the results of the match between SSG Landers and Kiwoom Heroes on the 30th, there is a possibility that the first-ever "fifth-place match" between KT Wiz and SSG for the last ticket of autumn baseball will be held on October 1.메이저놀이터

And as the regular league schedule comes to an end, each club announces a list of released players that will not be included in the list of players on hold after the season ends. The main players announced at this time are prospects who have not distinguished themselves in the first team for a certain period of time or foster players who have not been registered as official players. Since rookies come in every year, the club has to release players, but it is very heartbreaking for the person concerned.

This year, the Lotte Giants released Shin Jung-rak, who was the No. 1 player in the 2010 rookie draft, on the 28th, and the Samsung Lions and NC released six and nine players, respectively, on the 29th. And among the 15 players released by Samsung and NC, the names of two pitchers who were known to baseball fans and called "special prospects" when they joined the team are drawing attention. They are pitchers Lee Min-ho and Shim Chang-min, who were born in 1993.

Born in Busan and graduating from prestigious Busan High School, Lee has been considered one of the best pitching prospects since his high school days. He was a highly anticipated promising player as the NC Dinos, a new team founded in 2011, selected Lee by utilizing the right to select a new team in the 2012 rookie draft. In fact, Lee was selected ahead of stars in the KBO league such as Han Hyun-hee, Kim Won-joong (Lotte), and Koo Ja-wook (Samsung).

Lee Min-ho, who failed to make many appearances in the Futures League due to elbow surgery during the rookie season, was selected as the closing pitcher of the first season when NC joined the first team in 2013, and recorded 10 saves. Although it is not a very good performance, it could not be said that it was a bad performance for a second-year promising pitcher who had a practical rookie season. He has become a key player in NC's bullpen by recording seven wins and eight holds in 2014 and six wins and 10 holds in 2015.

Lee Min-ho, who contributed to NC's first advance to the Korean Series with 9 wins and 3 holds while going between the starting pitcher and the bullpen in 2016, played 5 wins and 3 saves in 2017 and 5 wins and 14 saves in 2018, when he finished after five years. However, he joined the military after only 11 games due to an elbow injury throughout the 2019 season, and after being discharged from the military, he was not allowed to play in the first division for two years, and was notified of his release by NC after the end of last year's season.

Still in his 20s when he was released by NC, he showed his willingness to extend his active career and signed with Samsung for an annual salary of 45 million won in December last year after undergoing tests. However, Lee did not appear in the Samsung bullpen, which has expanded quantitatively by recruiting Kim Jae-yoon and Lim Chang-min, and ended the season with the last appearance of a Futures League game on June 1. Lee was eventually notified of his release from Samsung on the 29th.

Lee Min-ho, born in 1993, is 31 years old and it is too early to mention his retirement. However, it remains to be seen whether the pitcher, who failed to take the mound in the first division for the past five years after suffering from chronic elbow injury, will have another chance at the pro league. He was once called "Little Sun Dong-yeol" when he was a promising player due to the combination of powerful fastballs and big sliders, and is facing the biggest challenge since his debut as a pro.

Shim Chang-min, who was born in February 1993 and went to school with players born in 1992, was an infielder until he became a second grader at Kyungnam High School, but later turned into a pitcher. After turning to a pitcher, Shim grew rapidly, leading Kyungnam High School to win the MVP award at the 2010 Blue Dragon Open and was also selected as a member of the national youth team. In need of successor to Kwon Oh-joon (a pitcher coach for Samsung's rehabilitation team), the Samsung Lions selected Shim as the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2011 rookie draft.

After losing his rookie season due to shoulder pain after joining the professional league, he made his first team debut in 2012 and won two games, and emerged as a new hope for Samsung's bullpen with a 2.68 ERA with one win, two saves and 14 holds in 2013. Shim Chang-min, who also suffered ups and downs in 2014 and 2015 when the wind of his pitching blew in the KBO League, turned into a closing pitcher in 2016 and recorded 25 saves, and played a strong role with 4 wins and 6 saves and 16 holds in 2017 and 5 wins and 17 saves in 2018.

Unlike other players who finished their military service after completing their mandatory military service by joining Sangmu after the end of the 2018 season, however, he failed to display the power of his team before joining the military. He failed to meet expectations with 3 wins, 2 losses and 16 holds 5.08 in 2021, when Samsung ranked second in the regular league, and moved to NC through a trade with Kim Tae-gun (KIA Tigers) in December 2021. Unfortunately, NC also failed to display an opportunity to turn around.

Shim, who was sluggish in 11 games in 2022 with one win, two losses and 14.21, only took the mound in five games in the first division last year. More than anything else, he pitched 9.2 innings and allowed 16 pitches in two years after moving to NC. His salary, which once rose to 280 million won, was cut to 85 million won, but he was never called to the first team and was released by NC after giving up 31 pitches in 19.1 innings in the Futures League.

Shim Chang-min was a fastball sidearm pitcher who boasted outstanding pitching skills that flew over 150 kilometers per hour when he was with Samsung, but after moving to NC, Shim did not display as powerful pitching as he did when he was with Samsung. Above all, a professional bullpen pitcher who has never started a game since his debut as a pro pitcher, recorded more than one pitch per inning, which is quite fatal. Having revealed his weakness in ball control over the past few years, will he be able to get his third chance in the professional league.