Won-jun Ko

From BR Bullpen

Won-jun Ko (고원준)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 176 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Won-jun Ko made his Korea Baseball Organization debut in 2010 with the Nexen Heroes; he went 5-7 with a 4.12 ERA, walking 61 in 131 innings as one of their top starters. They had taken him in the third round of the 2009 KBO draft. He made the South Korean national team roster for the 2010 Intercontinental Cup. In the last game of round one, he held the Czech Republic national team to one hit and no runs in six for the win that pushed Korea past the Czechs for a spot in the Medal round. He had two other starts, fanning three and allowing one hit in a 17-2 mercy rule romp of Hong Kong (5 pitchers each worked a frame) and losing to the Dutch national team with 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. He had South Korea's second-best ERA (2.25), behind Seong-hyun Kim. In the tourney leaderboards, he was 5th in innings, 10th in opponent average (.154), tied Hideki Sunaga for 6th in Ks and tied Tsz-Chun Heung and Kamolphan Kanjanavisut for the most starts (3).

Ko was dealt that off-season to the Lotte Giants for Jeong-hun Lee and Jeong-min Park. He was 9-7 with a 4.19 ERA for Lotte in 2011 as part of a fine rotation with [[Won-jun Chang][, Seung Song and Ryan Sadowski. The right-hander slumped to 3-7 in 2012 though his ERA remained steady (4.25). He fell to 1-4, 5.61 in 2013.

Won-jun then performed his military service in 2014-2015, during which period he was with the Sangmu Phoenix military team. In the 2015 Asian Championship, he represented South Korea on the international stage again. He made two relief appearances, allowing two hits in two shutout innings against Pakistan (2 K). He struggled versus China with 3 hits and two runs in 1/3 of an inning; the rest of South Korea's staff allowed only two hits and no runs in 6 2/3 IP in a mercy rule win.

Ko is slated to return to Lotte in 2016 as his military service was complete.

Sources[edit]