'Amazing day': Peoria latest stop on baseball journey for Cardinals prospect from South Korea

PEORIA — Won-Bin Cho fell in love with baseball while following around his older brother in South Korea, whose sandlot team served food after its games.

Cho says he was there for the good eats at age 7, but instead got a taste of baseball that left him wanting more of the game.

The dynamic five-tool outfielder for the Peoria Chiefs from Seongnam, Republic of Korea, grew up idolizing the nation's greatest baseball player, former Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo.

"I met him after my rookie league season in 2022," Cho said. "We had coffee together at a Starbucks in Korea."

Fitting, that food or beverage was again involved. But the parent club St. Louis Cardinals' No. 9-ranked prospect wanted to meet his idol, gain his knowledge, and include him in his ultimate goals.

"Major League Baseball is my life-long dream," Cho said. "I asked him about the minors, about his journey, how he got to the majors. I already knew all about him so well.

"Patience, hard work, that's his advice to me."

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And that has been a hallmark in Cho's career path so far as he pursues an MLB career. He doesn't want to just become the next great baseball player from South Korea.

"Shin-Soo Choo was our greatest player," Cho said. "I followed him and (Dodgers pitcher) Hyun-jin Ryu. Whatever Choo did, I did.

"My goal is to be better than him. I want to be the greatest ever."

'An amazing day in my life'

The 6-foot-2, 222-pound left-handed hitter and thrower turned 18 and decided to forgo the 2021 Korean Baseball Organization amateur territorial draft.

Instead, he came to the U.S., making camp in Atlanta, finding an agent in MLBPA certified Han Lee, of Global Sports Integration, and searching for games he could play as a showcase for MLB scouts.

He spoke no English. Cho said he lived with his agent, Lee, for a while, then met an interpreter, Yinie Kasuya, who was fluent in the Korean language and welcomed him into her home.

She helped him acclimate to American culture. She gave him household chores to do. Taught him how to fry an egg and make a salad. Made sure he called his mom frequently. The same life skills she was imparting to her own teenage son.

All the while, Cho worked out relentlessly, taking batting practice for hours a day and working on his fitness. Lee had him keep a daily journal, instructing him to write about each day, in English, as a way to help him learn the language and acclimate.

Cho handled his interviews at the Chiefs first practice in Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria on a snowy early April day without the need for an interpreter.

He was 18 when the Cardinals signed him on Jan. 15, 2022 as an international free agent. He was the first amateur Asian player ever signed by the St. Louis team, and his deal was reportedly for $500,000 — the equivalent of a fourth-round draft MLB draft slot.

It was equal parts triumph and relief for Cho, who had to be patient and committed to his baseball pursuit in the U.S., while back home in South Korea friends and old teammates were being drafted in Korea's baseball system.

Signing that Cardinals contract re-enforced that gamble he took. Cho wrote about that moment in his journal — in English.

"I learned English watching a lot of drama movies," he said. "TV shows, too. Talking to people as much as I could. The day I signed, I wrote in my journal: 'It was an amazing day in my life. Unbelievable. My family is really happy for me. This is a dream come true.' "

A 485-foot homer and 90 mph throw

Cho won a home run derby for underclass players at the National Power Showcase in November 2020 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He hit a ball 468 feet with an exit velocity of 112 mph using an aluminum bat. He hit another 485 feet/115 mph.

His throws from right field were timed at 90-plus mph. He barnstormed around Atlanta, asking, begging his way onto teams just to play games that scouts might see.

He runs well and can play center field — although the Cardinals started him more in right field in rookie ball — and his swing and physique project to a power hitter at the major league level.

He was a pitcher in South Korea until he started working out for the first time at age 16, and lost 40 pounds in four months. Just six months after, he left South Korea and two months after signing with the Cardinals, Cho was in a spring training camp. He celebrates his last swing of a batting practice session with a bat flip that has become his trademark.

Cho played 26 games for the Cardinals rookie league team in the Florida Complex League in 2022. He then jumped into the low-A Florida State League in 2023 for his first shot at full-season pro ball and hit .270 with seven home runs, 52 RBIs and 32 steals last season for Palm Beach.

'I just didn't want to miss it'

Now Cho is in his age 20 season, but has already reached High-A baseball with the Chiefs. His confidence is rising as well, and he fears no challenge. Asked what pitcher he'd like a chance to face in the majors, he didn't hesitate:

"Ohtani," Cho said. "He's the best baseball player in the world. I would want to face him because I could learn something.

"The opportunity to play major league baseball, not everyone gets one. It's why I came here to the U.S., I wanted to take that chance. I just didn't want to miss it."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: St. Louis Cardinals prospect profile on Won-Bin Cho of South Korea