Struggling San Diego Shortstop Kim Ha-seong: A Closer Look at his 2024 Season

Star News Reporter Kim Dong-yoon | 2024.05.09 17:29

San Diego shortstop Kim Ha-seong (right) in the 9th (Korea time) /AFPBBNews=News Although the first batting order went down to number 9, Kim Ha-seong (29) was not left out of the San Diego Padres at the start.

Ha-seong Kim started as the 9th hitter and shortstop in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season visit game against the Chicago Cubs held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA on the 9th (Korea time) and he recorded 1 hit in 4 at-bats, 1 strikeout, and 1 stolen base.

This was his second time batting at number 9 after being demoted to batting order number 9 for the first time this season on the 5th. On this day, crime was common. In his third inning in the top of the 7th inning, Ha-seong Kim targeted Hayden Wesnesky’s 92.6 mph (about 149 km) fastball to center resulting in a hit to right. In Luis Araes’ at-bat, he stole second base and was able to steal his 8th base of the season.

Kim Ha-seong, unable to add a hit after that and content to be on base for 5 consecutive games, had a .211 batting average (30 hits in 142 at-bats) in 40 games, 5 runs home run, 21 RBI, 22 runs, 8 stolen bases, on-base percentage of 0.315, slugging percentage of 0.373, and OPS of 0.688. The results are disappointing compared to expectations.

In fact, it wasn’t just a day or two that Ha-seong Kim fell into a slump in batting. It has been two weeks since he recorded a multiple hit in a game, with only an occasional hit. Since the trip to the Colorado Rockies on April 25, he has not reported a hit for the 13th game. Due to poor batting, Ha-seong Kim’s batting order continued to decline. I started mainly at number 5, but now I have come down to number 6, number 7, number 8, and now number 9, where there is no place to retreat anymore.

Declining physical strength is often cited as a cause of poor batting. This season, Ha-seong Kim ranks first in defensive innings among all major league closers with 352⅓ innings in 40 games. Second is outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. from the same team with 346⅓ innings. Ha-seong Kim started all 40 games at the shortstop position, which already requires a lot of stamina. He was only substituted twice during the game. Considering that other players have had a break or two, the worries about Kim Ha-seong’s decline in stamina are nothing.

However, it is difficult to find either the local American media or San Diego coach Mike Schilt saying that Kim Ha-seong should be excluded from the starting lineup. The reason is the sense of stability provided by Kim Ha-seong’s protection. Right now, all of San Diego’s infielders are capable of playing shortstop defense. From second baseman Araes, who was recently acquired via trade, to first baseman Jake Cronenworth, third baseman Manny Machado, and even outfielder Tatis Jr., they are all veteran shortstops. However, no one could provide as much stability to the infield as Ha-seong Kim did at shortstop.

That’s the reason why Kim Ha-seong was selected as the starting shortstop in spring camp this season, pushing out Bogaerts, the $280 million man (about 383.6 billion won). Ha-seong Kim played as the starting shortstop in place of Tatis Jr. in 2022 and was recognized for his outstanding defense, enough to be among the three finalists for the National League Gold Glove Award in the shortstop category. He was pushed to second place last year due to the recruitment of Bogaerts, but Ha-seong Kim showed his presence there as well. Ha-seong Kim was named one of the three finalists in the 2023 National League second baseman and utility categories, and ultimately won the utility category. He was the first major leaguer from Korea and the first major leaguer from Asia to win the Gold Glove Award.

Xander Bogaerts (left) and Ha-seong Kim. /AFPBBNews=News1
In response to the visible results, Bogaerts gave up the shortstop position to Ha-seong Kim. The American media The Athletic reported the internal atmosphere in October last year, saying, “San Diego may ask Bogaerts to change positions next season (2024 season). The team believes that moving Kim Ha-seong to shortstop is the best combination.” And during spring training this February, Coach Schilt himself said, “Now we know very well that we have a Gold Glove winner named Kimmy. Bogaerts acknowledged that Ha-Sung Kim is valuable as a shortstop short and a good teammate.” fact nailed it down. Since then, Ha-seong Kim has maintained his position as a shortstop from the exhibition game to the 40th game of the regular season this year.

This year’s San Diego infield, with Kim Ha-seong returning to the shortstop, features the fourth-best defense among the 30 major league teams. In the latest OAA defensive indicator (Outs Above Average, an indicator that calculates how many outs were recorded above the league average), San Diego ranks 4th overall with +7.

In addition, as a full-time shortstop, Kim Ha-seong’s innings is still evaluated to be useful. In fact, Ha-seong Kim’s batting average is low, but he still has a presence that cannot be ignored in the lower order of the batting order by recording high quality singles and stolen bases. Ha-seong Kim’s adjusted OPS of 102 shows higher production than the league average hitters (100). American media outlet Fantasy Pros also highly evaluated Kim Ha-sung’s potential, saying, “Kim Ha-sung’s batting average may be low, but he is still a player who can contribute significantly to the team in RBI and power.”

[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

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