“Our draft principle was to pick the best player of the remaining players.”
The NC Dinos left a general review on the 2025 draft. At the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft held at Lotte Hotel World Crystal Ballroom in Seoul at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, NC selected three pitchers, two catchers, three infielders and one outfielder.
“Our draft principle for this year was to select the best player among the remaining players,” NC`s general manager Lim Seon-nam said. “Our strategy for this draft was to select Kim Hwi-jip in the first round. We made the best choice in the rest of the round and we are satisfied with that.”
“The biggest achievement in this draft was the selection of resources with excellent main focus and the selection of the most desired player in the mandatory selection of college graduates,” he explained.
On selecting Kim Tae-hoon from Sorae High School in the second round, Lim said, “I am pleased to be able to nominate a good player in turn. Kim played shortstop when he was in middle school, and grew taller and turned into a pitcher after high school.” “He highly rated his healthy arms and strong pitching, and even when analyzing data, his fastball rotation was among the best based on KBO standards. He gave an impressive evaluation to the fact that he recorded most of his strikeouts based on four points. The vertical movement of the ball was also very good, so I got the nomination.”
“He is regarded as one of the best all-weather resources in the college league, irrespective of whether he is a bullpen or a starter,” said Min Dong-geun, head of the scout team, on the designation of Hong Jae-moon of Dongui Science University in the fourth round. “His strong pitching form centered on the lower body will create a stable release point. Folk ball with a driving force of around 130 kilometers is the type of ball that has caught numerous batters in the college league. This season’s 12 games ERA of 0.69, WHIP of 0.79, hit rate of 0.170 and strikeout rate of 11.54 and walk rate of 1.62 per inning are excellent indicators. Based on the data and our observations, we were able to select the ball in the fourth round without difficulty.”
Regarding Yoo Jae-hyun, a fifth-round high school infielder, he said, “He was suspended in 2016 due to injury and was classified as one of the top-ranked infield resources last year. We’ve been interested in him since last year,” adding, “His pace has increased since the middle of this year, and he was able to be selected in the fifth round. He has the fastest main force this year. He can play shortstop, second baseman, first baseman, and even outfield in general. He also has strong offense and defense capabilities, so he was nominated based on his excellent resources.”
Regarding the nomination of pitcher Lee Se-min of the Daegu Sangwon High School in the sixth round, he said, “He was one of the best players in the Gyeongsang region with excellent physical bullpen-type fastball resources. He has struck out a lot with his main weapon, curveball, and has the ability to strike out with fastballs. The slider is fast and sharp enough to form a fastball of nearly 140 kilometers,” adding, “If it grows within the team’s development system, it will be able to grow into an all-weather resource and be expected to grow into a bullpen winning team or a finishing resource.” 스포츠토토
Among them, Lee Se-min said, “I’m happy to be selected as a great team called NC. And I’m also happy to play with my friend Lim Sang-hyun,” adding, “I’ll work hard with the goal of making the first team in my first year.”
“Since he is tall, he is confident in his fastball from a high RBI. And he has the advantage of being able to take a large vertical angle of the curve,” he said.
Regarding his role model, Lee said, “Shin Min-hyuk is my role model. I want to resemble him pitching confidently on the mound. In particular, it was really cool to see him induce swings and misses with changeups and strike out with his body’s fastball.”
Finally, Lee said, “I want to be a pitcher who gives me trust when I climb the mound. I will do my best to convey that kind of trust. Please give me a lot of support.”
Meanwhile, the NC Dinos scout team joined the event wearing draft uniforms this year as well. It is said that the move is aimed at strengthening the sense of duty and sharing today’s mindset with the players who will take responsibility for the future of the Dinos.
NC said, “The draft uniform number is ’25, which symbolizes this draft. The 2025 draft emblem is on the left sleeve and the NC Dinos emblem is on the right sleeve. The front chest of the uniform has the club name (‘NC DINOS’) and the letter symbolizing this draft (‘DRAFT 2025’).”