This image captured from the website of the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, on Dec. 12, 2024, shows South Korean pitching prospect Choi Hyun-il. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean minor league prospect hoping to reach the majors will now have to do so in a different organization.
Right-hander Choi Hyun-il, who split his 2024 season on Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was selected by the Washington Nationals in the minor league Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday (U.S. local time).
Players not protected on a major league or Triple-A roster are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, designed to prevent clubs from hoarding prospects when other teams could be using them. Each selection costs teams US$24,000, and players selected in the minor league phase of the draft aren’t subject to any roster restrictions with their new teams.
Choi, 24, signed with the Dodgers out of Seoul High School and joined their system in the Rookie League in 2019.
Choi reached Triple-A, the highest rung in the minor league ladder, for the first time this year. In 15 Triple-A outings, including 14 starts, Choi went 4-6 with a 4.28 ERA over 73 2/3 innings. He had 56 strikeouts and 32 walks.
In his minor league career across all levels, Choi has a 22-24 record with a 3.88 ERA in 80 outings, including 57 starts.
The Rochester Red Wings are the Triple-A affiliate of the Nationals.
Many of the South Koreans who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in recent years have done so after first playing professionally in the Korea Baseball Organization for several seasons. Few have gone the “Korean high school to the minors to MLB” route.
Former New York Yankees minor leaguer Park Hoy-jun, who signed out of high school, made his MLB debut in 2021 after toiling for 6 1/2 years in the minor leagues. He has spent the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons in Triple-A for the Atlanta Braves and then the Oakland Athletics.
Bae Ji-hwan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, another former high school prospect, reached MLB for the first time in 2022 after a handful of minor league seasons and has since shuttled between the majors and the minors.
(Yonhap)
