Jun-Seok Shim signs with Pirates

n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”rich”,”width”:550,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbedContent”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”jun-seok-shim-signs-with-pirates”,”type”:”story”}).parts.4″:{“data”:{“type”:”id”,”generated”:true,”id”:”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”jun-seok-shim-signs-with-pirates”,”type”:”story”}).parts.4.data”,”typename”:”ExternalEmbedContent”},”type”:”oembed”,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbed”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”jun-seok-shim-signs-with-pirates”,”type”:”story”}).parts.5″:{“content”:”Shim’s appeal as a prospect is easy to grasp. The 18-year-old, who described Gerrit Cole as a role model, can touch triple digits with his fastball, typically sitting in the 94-to-96 range. Junior Vizcaino, the Pirates’ director of international scouting, commented that Shim’s fastball has “hop,” giving off the illusion that the pitch is rising due to its spin and velocity. In addition to the fastball, which Shim called his go-to pitch, he’s developing a changeup and splitter to further expand his repertoire.nnAlong with the talent, Vizcaino added that the Pirates were impressed with Shim’s composure. Vizcaino recalled watching Shim weasel his way out of a bases-loaded scenario during a single-elimination tournament, a testament to the teenager’s poise.nn“He could have folded, but he stepped it up, challenged the hitters, got out of the situation,” Vizcaino said. “It was really impressive, taking into account the environment that he was in.”nnShim dealt with injuries as a prep pitcher at Duksoo High School, dealing with an elbow injury in 2021 and a big toe injury in ’22. When asked about the injuries, Shim said he’s “good to go.”nnAs far as this year, general manager Ben Cherington said that Shim will spend some time in the Dominican Republic, then transfer to Bradenton, Fla., and join the organization’s Florida Complex League team thereafter.nnShim is the fourth top-12 international prospect whom the Pirates have signed in the past three years, per MLB Pipeline. He joins Tony Blanco Jr. (No. 11) and Yordany De Los Santos (No. 12) from 2022, as well as Shalin Polanco (No. 10) from ’21. Cherington discussed the importance of signing international players, saying…