The Neverending Story

Team Cuba in the midst of another downward spiral.

Liván Moinelo threw a 98 mph fastball in the middle of the strike zone. Seungyeup Na just nodded. Strikeout looking. With eight pitches, Moinelo put the bottom of the second inning in two outs. He had struck out three of his first six opponents. He had allowed no hits.

After his first 27 pitches, Moinelo is pitching like he knows how, and he seems to bring everything necessary to bring some hope and inspiration to Team Cuba. He knows his command is key in another game in which Cuba's offense faces a high challenge against Korea's pitching. After a disconcerting 6-1 loss—no extra-base hits, no RBIs, leaving 10 runners on base and hitting 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position—on Premier12 Opening Day, Cuba needs a leader on the field.

However, the Korean hitters began an onslaught that ended up producing two runs after two outs and the bases loaded. Moinelo relentlessly pursued the third out of the second inning, but allowed a double, a pair of singles, gave up a walk and hit a batter. The Korean fans were enjoying the first big moment of the game. The stage seemed ideal, with superstar Do Yeong Kim stepping up to the plate.

Kim, 21, had an impressive breakout in the 2024 KBO season. In 2023, he was one of the Kia Tigers’ top prospects: he played 84 games, hit .303 in 385 plate appearances, hit seven home runs, drove in 47 runs and stole 25 bases. All of those numbers improved incredibly in 2024.

His contact ability, which was the cover of his peripheral statistics, projected Kim as a possible contender for the league’s batting title in the near future. But the big breakout came through his power: Kim hit 38 homers, drove in 109 runs, scored 143 and stole 40 bases in 44 attempts. He had legend-level numbers in the KBO, with a historic season. He led the league with 8.3 WAR and his slugging percentage rose from .453 in 2023 to .647 in 2024, almost .200 points (.194).