Jun-Seok Shim signs with Pirates

PITTSBURGH — Snow intermittently descended upon PNC Park as Jun-Seok Shim, the headliner of the Pirates’ international class, nestled into a seat inside the stadium’s press conference room. His family occupied the front row. Every camera pointed in his direction. It was a day that the 18-year-old right-hander from South Korea had long awaited.

The conditions on this cold, January, Pittsburgh morning were not built for baseball. But on this day, Shim, who officially signed with the Pirates as a non-drafted free agent, looked down the line, envisioning spring and summer days in which he could call this ballpark his office.

“I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m very excited to be here,” Shim said through Pirates scout Jong Hoon Na. “I can’t wait to come here and pitch one day. This whole tour motivated me.”

Shim, the No. 10 prospect of this year’s international class, per MLB Pipeline, could have easily opted to stay in South Korea. If he remained home, he would’ve been one of the top selections — if not the first overall pick — in the KBO Draft. Shim’s ambitions, though, were in America.

“It’s been my dream to play in the United States,” Shim said. “I wanted to pursue my dream to come here and play baseball.”

Shim had been on the Pirates’ radar dating back to 2020. Max Kwan, the Pirates’ director of player personnel, shared that Fu Chan Chiang, the Pirates’ Pacific Rim scout, stumbled upon Shim through YouTube, kick-starting this scouting process. Over the past two years, the Pirates have observed just about all of Shim’s starts.

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.

Along 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.

“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.”

Shim 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.”

As 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.

Shim 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 the team has “to be great at it.”

“Relative to our competitors, over time, we’ve got to be getting more players,” said Cherington. “We need to be operating in the upper end of the industry in terms of the kind of overall talent we’re getting [internationally] over time because of the risk. We’re not going to hit on every player. We know that. Over time, we’ve got to be getting more talent out of that market than our competitors.

“We focus on that every day. We’re looking to find ways to improve that every day. We’re fortunate to have Junior and Max leading the way for us. Feel confident that we’re not going to leave a stone unturned. It’s critically important of the operation.”

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.

Along 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.

“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.”

Shim 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.”

As 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.

Shim 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 the team has “to be great at it.”

“Relative to our competitors, over time, we’ve got to be getting more players,” said Cherington. “We need to be operating in the upper end of the industry in terms of the kind of overall talent we’re getting [internationally] over time because of the risk. We’re not going to hit on every player. We know that. Over time, we’ve got to be getting more talent out of that market than our competitors.

“We focus on that every day. We’re looking to find ways to improve that every day. We’re fortunate to have Junior and Max leading the way for us. Feel confident that we’re not going to leave a stone unturned. It’s critically important of the operation.”