Ji-min Choi

Ji-min Choi (최지민)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 220 lb.

• High School Gangneung High School

• Born September 10, 2003 in Gangneung South Korea

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ji-min Choi has pitched in the KBO and for the South Korea national baseball team.

Choi was drafted by the KIA Tigers in the first round of the 2022 KBO draft, and he mainly stayed in the minors in 2022 season. He only pitched 6 games with a 13.50 ERA for the big club, and he also had a 1.47 ERA in 17 games for the Geelong-Korea team of the 2022-2023 Australian Baseball League. Choi notched 12 holds in 2023, and he had a solid 2.12 ERA in 28 appearances. He represented South Korea in the 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023 after delays due to COVID-19). Choi a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts against Hong Kong after relieving Tae-in Won in the 5th inning, and he got the win over Chung-Hei Leung. He then pitched a shutout inning against Chinese Taipei, and he added a shutout inning against Japan. In the Gold Medal Game, he relieved Dong-ju Moon in the 7th inning, and he struck out 2 (against Tzu-Hao Lin and Nien-Ting Wu) in a shutout inning to help his country won Gold. That exempted him from South Korea's military service.

The Gangneung native then made it onto Korea's roster for the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. He pitched 2/3 of a shutout inning against Australia in the opener, and he added a shutout inning with 2 strikeouts against Chieh-Hsien Chen and Shao-Hung Chiang of Chinese Taipei. Choi then struck out 2 (against Makoto Kadowaki and Kyota Fujiwara) in 1 2/3 shutout innings versus Japan in the Gold Medal Game, but Korea lost due to Kadowaki's walk-off single. He had worked 8 1/3 shutout innings for his country for 2023. He struggled in 2024, as his ERA was 5.09 in 56 games with 12 holds.

Choi's repertoire included a fastball (peak 94.4 mph), changeup and slider.

Sources

• Namu wiki
• 2022 Asian Games
• 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship
• KBO.com Bio