Shortstop is one of the most valuable positions in the KBO league. As the demand is high and the supply is low, the position is also very popular in the free agent market of professional baseball. As one of the pillars of the center line, the team should have stable defense capability and speed to secure a wide range of defense capabilities.안전놀이터

The industry has consistent assessment that at least the Samsung Lions do not have many concerns about this position. The prevailing view is that the generational shift from shortstop Kim Sang-soo (35) to Lee Jae-hyun (22), who left for KT Wiz, has been very successful. Lee Jae-hyun played full-time in the first year of the 2022 national draft, when he wore the Samsung uniform.

He has played in as many as 75 games for rookies since his debut season in 2022, and 143 games in 2023, excluding one game. His batting performance as well as his health are all about to move upward. He increased his batting average from 0.235 in 2022 to 0.249 in 2023 and 0.260, respectively, during the regular season in 2024. The number of homers has also slightly increased from seven in his debut season to 12 and 14 in his debut season.

Lee Jae-hyun's 2025 season, which is in his fourth year, is unusual from the beginning. He has displayed outstanding batting performance by playing in all seven games he has played, with a batting average of 0.364 (eight hits in 22 times at bat) and two homers and six RBIs. On-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), an indicator of offensive productivity, stands at 1.290. He has also displayed strong performance in chances with his batting average of 0.375 including those within the scoring range.

In particular, Lee Jae-hyun's OPS is the fourth highest among hitters who met the required number of times at bat this season. LG Moon Bo-kyung, Kiwoom Cardinés, and NC Gwon Hee-dong are the only hitters with higher OPS than Lee Jae-hyun. It also means that he is the best at-bat among shortstop players in the entire league. He is the only one who made an error. Although it is early in the season, he still smells like a "peace king" who erases the exhausting debate over the best position player.

Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man, a former national shortstop, also said with satisfaction, "I think I went to the U.S. ahead of this season and refined my swing. I think I felt last winter that a good batting is needed when the swing trajectory is bigger than the back. That's why I keep getting good results." As coach Park Jin-man explained, Lee Jae-hyun received a three-week course training at CSP (Cressey Sports Performance), a baseball program facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, after the end of the 2024 season.

At the match against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on Tuesday, Lee started the game as the second batter and shortstop, and posted two hits, one walk, one RBI and one run from five times at bat. He led his team to a landslide 13-2 victory. Notably, Lee caught a hit that passed the second base hit by leadoff hitter Jeong Su-bin in the bottom of the eighth inning and threw the ball to the second base, which was truly overwhelming. When asked if his return from the U.S. after the game was successful, however, Lee replied calmly, "It's one of the processes I'm trying this and that."

He also showed modest performance. Lee Jae-hyun said, "I still feel like I'm in the process of finding my swing, although I'm not 100 percent hit. Walking on base has naturally increased recently as I'm trying to hit only good pitches. Still, I still miss some strikes, so I think I need to work harder."

"There are times when you lose and sometimes you win when you play, but the team atmosphere is not much different. The older brothers lead us well so that we can have the mindset of winning every game and not letting the mood down. Also, it was cold, but watching the away fans' seats during the game warmed my heart. I am always grateful to the fans who came to support us."