The rookie draft has ended. A total of 110 players have become professional players. The list of players who will be the top overall pick and who will be selected in the first round has been finalized.메이저놀이터
The next concern is the down payment. In particular, fans are interested in how much down payment the top-ranked players will receive to wear professional uniforms. Expectations for the player are often evaluated based on the amount of down payment.
The highest down payment ever in the KBO League is 1 billion won. This is a record set by Han Ki-joo, who joined the KIA Tigers in 2006. While Han Ki-joo, who drew attention with his ultra-high school pitching skills at Gwangju's "Local Boy," made the first nomination and gave him incredible treatment.
Since then, there have been no double-digit contracts. The second place record is 900 million won that Jang Jae-young received while wearing the Kiwoom Heroes' uniform in 2021. And in recent years, the amount of down payment for rookie players has stabilized. Last year, Hwang Joon-seo, the No. 1 player in the rookie draft, recorded 350 million won. Moon Dong-ju and Kim Seo-hyun, the former No. 1 players, had signed contracts for 500 million won.
Newcomers who will play in the professional league in the 2025 season were also paying keen attention to the rookie players. The draft, which had more excellent pitching resources than ever before, chose left-hander Chung Hyeon-woo from Deoksu High School. Since then, pitchers who are said to be able to play professional baseball have visited the news team in order of Jeong Woo-ju (Hanwha), Bae Chan-seung (Samsung), Kim Tae-hyun (Lotte), and Kim Tae-hyung (KIA).
And on Sept. 17, the day of Chuseok, Kiwoom announced that it signed contracts with all 14 rookie players. Jung Hyun-woo of interest decided to receive 500 million won. Kiwoom set aside a huge amount of 500 million won to save the pride of the first player in the team's history, and Jung Hyun-woo also expressed satisfaction with Kiwoom's treatment. It was the third-largest down payment for the team after Jang Jae-young and Ahn Woo-jin (600 million won).
So, one can't help but wonder about the down payment of Jung Woo-joo, the second overall pick. There was no second priority that received more money than the first overall pick, whether it was a full-scale draft or a second nomination after the first nomination. There were cases where the second first-place pick received more down payment than the first, but it is safe to say that there was no symbolically second-place pick than the first-place pick. However, there are cases where the same amount is set to protect their pride. Last year was the case. Doosan Bears gave Kim Taek-yeon, the second overall pick, the same amount as Hwang Joon-seo, 350 million won.
The reason why I am curious about Jung Woo-joo's down payment is that since the beginning of this year, Jung Woo-joo has been the leading candidate in the overall rankings. His ability to throw 155 km fastballs lightly, and Major League clubs wanted him as well. Jung Woo-joo was more popular than Chung. It was widely believed that it was not just his ability but his potential and growth potential. In fact, Kiwoom also wanted Jung Woo-joo, but he suddenly switched to Jung Woo-joo because he needed to select a left-hander about a month before the draft was scheduled.
If Kiwoom had Jung Woo-joo as its No. 1 nominee, it had been evaluated that Jang could be greedy for a down payment (900 million won). However, Jung ended up with only the second title after Chung.
According to the regulation, there is no problem if a second-ranked player is paid more down payment than the first-ranked player. However, no such case has been reported in the past. "The down payment for rookies accounts for a large portion of the team's budget. In order to spend the money, it is necessary to have the approval of the parent company, but it is difficult to understand the justification that the second-ranked player should be paid more than the first-ranked player," said the head of the A team. Therefore, when the down payment for the entire first-ranked player was announced, the amount of the subordinated players would naturally be determined. Kiwoom has set a 220 million won fee for Kim Seo-joon, a rookie in the first round who was selected through trade of nomination rights.
Money is also a matter of money, but it is also very burdensome to hear that he is "overreacting" the second-ranked player.
Originally, when the draft was held, it was common for a first-place player to be clearly ahead of the draft. It was rare for a top-ranked player to be held as fiercely as this year. How much down payment will Hanwha give to Jung Woo-joo, who is armed with "all-time" ball power? It seems unlikely that Chung will exceed 500 million won by any chance.