Volume 2: Dormant Rebirth Chapter 40 Director Kataoka's opinion on Zhang Han
"Compared to the two first-year players, I am more optimistic about the second-year players, Kominato Ryosuke and Isashiki Jun. They both have the strength of a first-team team. Even if they can't become the main players directly, they can still play a role in the rest area. Most importantly, they are also the core components of our next batch of players."
Coach Kataoka did not mention Miyuki and Zhang Han, but instead talked about two second-year players first.
Hearing the names of the two players, Takashima Rei and Ota couldn't help but nod.
They also watched the orientation competition and praised the performances of the two contestants.
I guess it’s hard for people who have seen how they performed in the first grade to imagine what they look like now?
When he first joined the team, Ryosuke Kominato was almost excluded as a promising player because of his height.
He is a head shorter than other players of the same age!
Even though the Seidou High School baseball team does not have a tradition of prioritizing height, the success rate of players this short is too low.
Whether it is speed, strength, or future growth.
Players with short stature are at an all-round disadvantage.
So even though Ryosuke Kominato showed superb baseball skills at the time, many people on the coaching staff, or even the majority of them.
But no one is optimistic about his development.
Unexpectedly, in just one year, he had undergone a complete transformation.
Although his height has not increased, his presence on the court cannot be ignored.
Before, almost all the old students were helpless in dealing with Zhang Han.
That kid grew so fast after joining the Qingdao High School baseball team.
As a result, many seniors were left behind by him. More importantly, everyone was not mentally prepared for Zhang Han's rapid growth.
They really don't know how to defeat this guy.
At this extremely difficult moment, it was Ryosuke Kominato who stood up, fully exposed Zhang Han's weaknesses, and was responsible for defeating Zhang Han.
Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult for the senior team to get three points in the final moments.
As for the other contestant, Jun Isashiki.
Among the second-year players , he has always been second only to Chris and Yuki. In this welcome game, he maintained his usual performance.
He got to the strike zone six times, collected four hits, one walk, and three RBIs.
There was also one time when Zhang Han's ball was hit out.
You should know that he only played against Zhang Han once, and he was also the only senior who knocked Zhang Han out in the first round.
Considering the strength of the freshman team's pitchers, which is really not that good, Isajiki Jun's record cannot help but be discounted.
But no matter how much it is discounted, the record is here.
He has already stood out in the Second Army and has to be promoted!
It's hard to imagine that no one was optimistic about these two people a year ago.
Even Director Kataoka has doubts about their abilities.
I didn’t expect that they would grow so fast nowadays!
"There is no suspense about these two players joining the first team. Not to mention compared with those eliminated from the first team, even compared with those who remain in the first team, they are not inferior."
As Takashima Rei said this, he pushed up his glasses on his nose.
She said it seriously, without any hesitation.
Minister Ota also nodded.
Although he was not optimistic about these two players a year ago.
But now, they already have such strength. In addition, seeing how hard they practiced, Ota thought it was natural to promote them.
"Then I wonder what you think of the two freshmen ?"
In fact, the three giants have similar ideas about the candidates for promotion to the second grade.
Although Zengzi works very hard , his strengths are also outstanding.
But unfortunately, his weaknesses are equally prominent.
At this stage, it cannot be said that all the third-year players who remain in the first team are much stronger than him, but at least they are on par with him.
If the lower grade players are really outstanding, then there is nothing to say. The Qingdao High School baseball team values strength the most, so they will naturally promote more capable players.
No matter whether the contestant is a senior or a junior.
They promote players who can bring victory to the team.
But if the abilities of the seniors and juniors are equal, that’s a different matter.
Why don't they use the younger students instead of the seniors who have played for the team longer?
Zengzi was not selected this time because of this reason.
Those who lost the election with him included Kuramochi, Hakushu and others.
Of course, they were not selected not entirely because of their lack of strength, but it was indeed because they were not strong enough.
If their strength can replace the third-year seniors, the overall strength of the team will become stronger.
So weren't they chosen?
"Regarding the two new players, I agree with your opinion. Move them both to the first team. Although Miyuki is a newcomer, his talent as a catcher is obviously better than Miyauchi's. It is appropriate to promote him."
There is another reason that Kataoka didn't mention.
Although Miyauchi is very talented at the catcher position, he is in the same grade as Chris.
He is not strong enough to replace Chris.
Although it is a bit cruel, from the team's perspective, training the next generation of Miyuki is obviously more cost-effective than training Miyauchi.
As for the third-year catcher, his strength is indeed far from enough.
If not for this, he would not have been replaced by Chris, who is one year younger than him, as the main catcher.
"Where's Zhang Han? How do we locate him?"
"Although Zhang Han's ball control and speed have reached the standards of a high school student, he only has an ordinary straight ball, and his changeup is negligible. In addition, the pitching action is too large, so I think it is not yet time to let him serve as the team's pitcher. Let him focus on hitting first, and then consider his talent as a pitcher after he has honed his hitting skills."
There is no doubt that Zhang Han has strong talents in both pitching and batting.
Especially in batting, his talent is so strong that it is rare to see one in ten years even in a strong team like Seidou High School Baseball Team.
Director Kataoka believes that he may be able to catch up with or even surpass Azuma in the future.
Although the pitcher's talent is a little lacking, he should be quite powerful if he is trained.
But human energy is limited, and it is impossible to have both the fish and the bear's paw.
In order to make Zhang Han one of the team's combat forces as soon as possible, it is more reliable to let him start with attacking.
As for pitching, Zhang Han’s problem is too big and cannot be improved in a short period of time.
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