The Los Angeles Dodgers emerged as the winner of the Hyun-suk Jang sweepstakes when they reportedly inked the 19-year-old pitching sensation to a deal last week. Jang is just as excited as the Dodgers are about this partnership, as it offers him a great opportunity to be in the same shoes as other Korean pitchers for Los Angeles before him.

“I want to follow the footsteps steps (of Chan-ho Park and Hyun-jin Ryu) and become a starting pitcher for the Dodgers,” Hyun-suk Jang said, via KBO insider Daniel Kim of ESPN.

Jang was expected to be the top pick in the KBO draft, but with his commitment to the Dodgers, he's now envisioned foregoing his shot at the pro league in his home country and trying his luck in the big leagues some 6,000 miles away across the Pacific.

“It was a tough decision for me because I dreamed of pitching both in the KBO and MLB,” Jang said, per the Korea Times.

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Park pitched for 16 years in the majors, spending nine seasons with the Dodgers. During his time with Los Angeles, Park, a one-time All-Star, went 84-58 with a 3.77 ERA in 275 appearances, including 181 starts from 1994 to 2001 and in 2008. Ryu, on the other hand, spent his first six seasons in the big leagues in Dodgers threads from 2013 to 2019. During his stay in Hollywood, Ryu put together a 54-33 record to go with a 2.98 ERA. He was an All-Star in his last year with the Dodgers.

Jang will carry with him a ton of promise when he arrives in the US, and the hype will only get bigger as he gets closer to his eventual big league debut.