The Dodgers number 26 prospect is Hyun-il Choi. Hyun-il Choi is a right-handed pitcher currently pitching for the Great Lake Loons. The Great Lake Loons pitcher stands 6’2 weighing 200 pounds as a 21-year-old. Choi was signed in 2018 as an international free agent out of Korea.
In the 15 games Hyun-il has pitched in, he has only started 2 of those games. Even though he doesn’t start in many of those games, he does pitch the bulk of the game as the Dodgers use an opener for him. He has a record of 8-3 with an ERA of 3.17. Choi has 75 strikeouts and only 7 walks in his 65.1 innings of work. Those numbers are from when he was pitching for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He was recently promoted to the Great Lake Loons due to Gerardo Carrillo being traded. In the one appearance he had with the Loons, he threw 5 innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits striking out 8 batters. Hyun-il only threw 74 pitches in this outing and did not walk a batter, which is his MO.
Hyun-il Choi was one of the players whose development was hurt due to COVID. He couldn’t come back into the United States for a long time due to travel restrictions so he was limited to only at-home training.
Choi has a pitch mix of fastball, curveball, slider, and a changeup. The fastball sits at 89-92 MPH. He has great control of the fastball and can locate it all over the plate with confidence. The two problems with the fastball are that it is not thrown very hard and there is very minimal movement so it can get hit the farther up the Farm System he goes.
The curveball sits in the low 70’s and can also be thrown for strikes. The pitch doesn’t have much movement, which is a problem because it is thrown so slow the batter can pick up the pitch easily and drill the pitch. Choi does have a good feel for the pitch and understands the situations when you need to throw it in the dirt.
The slider is thrown in the range of 77-79 MPH. This pitch is just like every other pitch, throws it slowly but can locate anywhere on the plate. Hyun-il Choi would benefit greatly from adding some speed to the pitch and lose some control.
The changeup, which is thrown more like a splitter, is thrown around 81 MPH, which is a great speed differential from the fastball. This pitch is his best pitch as it has great movement and misses bats with ease.
Hyun-il Choi is estimated to be called up to the Dodgers in 2023. Choi needs to add some speed to all his pitches because frankly, he just doesn’t throw hard enough to be an MLB guy. The pitchers like Zach Greinke and Kyle Hendricks who throw slow, have incredible pinpoint control, and can move their pitches all over the place. Hyun-il doesn’t have that kind of movement. He doesn’t have a bright future but he can be a spot starter or if he makes adjustments, he can be a back-end starter in 2023.