Bears putting no innings restriction on emerging young pitcher

Doosan Bears' young pitching prospect, Choi Min-seok, has been throwing an impressive 50 more innings than he did during his rookie season in 2025. Despite this increase, the 20-year-old right-hander has maintained an excellent performance, going 4-0 in August with a 2.45 ERA, allowing two or fewer earned runs in each start. Choi currently stands tied for the lead in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with 13 wins and sports the second-lowest ERA at 2.61 over 127 2/3 innings.

Manager Kim Won-hyong confirmed that there will be no innings restrictions placed on Choi for the remainder of the season, emphasizing that they have already provided him with additional rest earlier in the year. Kim, a former pitcher himself, expressed his belief in the coaching staff's ability to manage Choi's health effectively, stating that they recognized the need to give him extra time off earlier in the season to avoid injury.

Recent trends in both the KBO and Major League Baseball have seen teams capping innings for young starting pitchers in an effort to prevent injuries. However, Choi's manager, drawing from his own experience, argued that setting age-based innings limits for pitchers is not necessary. He stated that a pitcher's mechanics and delivery do not directly impact injury risks, as athletes with great mechanics have still faced injuries, while others have maintained healthy careers without proper mechanics.

With Choi's impressive performance and the Bears' pursuit of postseason positioning, Kim emphasized that they have built a solid foundation for the young pitcher, believing he possesses the necessary tools to succeed over the long term.