His first three-game shutout streak of the season has been followed by a first-place finish in saves.
Kia Tigers closer Jung Hae-young (23) opened the series against the Gwangju Doosan Bears on April 24-26. On the 24th, he gave up a game-tying two-run homer to Yang Ji-hyun and blew a blown save. For the second time in the season, however, he picked up back-to-back blown saves on the 25th and 26th with only one out.
Jung is 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 23 starts and 15 saves this season. She has a .267 batting average and a 1.35 WHIP. Jung worked on his pitching balance at the Driveline Baseball Center in Seattle last winter, which helped him resolve some of the velocity issues he’s struggled with over the past year or two.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Jung’s average fastball velocity is 146.1 mph. That’s up from 143.2 mph in the 2023 season. Unlike last year, Jung’s splitter rate has dropped this season. Instead, he increased his slider percentage. His BABIP is 0.100. It’s down from 0.300 last year. However, his BABIP has increased from 0.288 to 0.422.
Still, Jeong hasn’t faltered since that day. She hasn’t allowed a run in four consecutive games since April 16 against the SSG Landers in Incheon, when she gave up two home runs. Even after the blown save on April 24, he continued to show his strength with two consecutive saves.
The three-game shutout streak gave him 15 saves on the season, leading the league in that category. He is one save behind Moon Seung-won (SSG) and Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung Lions), who both have 14 saves. They are followed by Yoo Young-chan (LG Twins) with 11 saves and Lee Yong-chan (NC Dinos) and Kim Won-joong (Lotte Giants) with 10 saves.
Jung has already become the first Tiger to reach 30 saves in back-to-back years and 20 saves in back-to-back years. On April 24 against the 사설토토 Gochuk Kiwoom Heroes, he became the KBO’s youngest 100-save pitcher at 22 years, 8 months, and 1 day old. He now has 105 career saves and is on pace to surpass all Tigers closers’ records.
However, there is one feat that Jung has yet to accomplish: the saves title. He’s been a full-time professional closer since 2021, his fourth year, but he finished third in 2021 (34 saves), third in 2022 (32 saves), and seventh in 2023 (23 saves).
This season, she has a great chance to win her first career save title. First of all, Jeong Jung-young has improved his competitiveness, and Kia has been in first place this season since April 9th. With good power comes a lot of save opportunities.
The Kia bullpen has struggled a bit in May, but it’s still competitive enough. With a good starting lineup and bullpen, Jung will have plenty of opportunities to get saves. There’s no one contender, and Jung hasn’t been overly hungry for saves. However, save opportunities don’t come easy. This year, Jung has earned it.