Hyeseong Kim, a utility player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, has had a remarkable start to his MLB career, performing at a level that no one could have reasonably expected.
Kim chose the Dodgers as his offseason destination after being courted by other teams, relying on the organization to carefully and optimally manage his development stateside.
Kim, who had grown up playing baseball in South Korea, began his American baseball career in the minor leagues, adjusting to the schedule and pitching while also adjusting his mechanics to better meet the demands of modern pitching.
Kim’s earlier call-up to the roster was prompted by injuries to Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman, and many expected it to be a temporary move.
While this may still be the case, Kim’s performance has made the decision much more difficult for the organization.
“I am just going to play baseball. “When I’m on the field, I’m just going to play baseball and try to get on base,” Kim told Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times via an interpreter.
“It’s difficult to speculate or predict what will happen in the future.”
“It’s been fun. It’s not an easy opportunity, so I’m having a lot of fun right now.
To begin the season, the Dodgers assigned Kim to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he hit.252, had an on-base percentage of.328, a slugging percentage of.470, five home runs, and 19 RBIs.
His performance was unremarkable, emphasizing the changes he needed to make to reach the majors, especially on a talented team like the Dodgers.
Kim has 0.5 WAR in 13 games, batting.452/.485/.468 with a home run and five RBIs.
He can also provide value on base paths, having stolen three bases in as many attempts. Most impressively, his wRC+ is 203, indicating that he has performed exceptionally well during this brief period.
Kim is likely to experience some regression, given how unsustainable his averages are and that underlying metrics suggest some luck played a role in his hot start; his expected weighted on-base average is significantly lower than his actual figure.
Given the Dodgers’ loaded roster, Kim could be sent back down. However, with his newfound confidence in his ability to play in the major leagues, he should perform admirably in Triple-A.
The Dodgers can afford to be patient with Kim, allowing him to adjust and not expecting him to be an immediate contributor.
However, now that he has demonstrated this ability, it may be difficult to stop his momentum and force the team to keep him in the major leagues.
