Kim Ha-seong, who celebrated his second year in the major leagues in 2022, proved his potential as a full-time starting shortstop who can survive a season by flying in both offense and defense. It was also encouraging to raise his offense to the league average level, but above all, his defense was impressive.
In any baseball, shortstop is a position where defense is important, and you cannot survive for a long time without it. On the contrary, when he becomes defensive, the team tries to use it in any way. Last year, Kim Ha-seong showed Ho-bi, which was stable and produced a highlight film, and was even nominated for the National League Gold Glove category. Although he did not win the award, it means that he was recognized by the coaching staff and fellow players as a defender who is within the ‘three fingers’.
Ha-seong Kim is expected to move his position in 2023. This is because San Diego, which is eager to challenge for the presidency, invested a large amount of money to recruit former All-Star shortstop Zander Bogaerts. San Diego’s investment in Bogarts amounts to $280 million over 11 years. In the major leagues, salary is power. Unless Bogaerts gives up at shortstop, he has priority.
He is also capable enough to claim his place. He is a slugger who has won the Silver Slugger five times in his career in the American League. In 1264 career major league games, he had a batting average of 0.292, 156 home runs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.814. He’s not a very bad defensive player either. He was above average last year with a +5 on Bogatz’s OAA (a measure of how many more out counts he caught than average on overall difficulty, such as batting speed and direction).
Chain movement is inevitable. Kim Ha-seong is expected to move to second base, and Jake Cronenworth, who was second baseman, will move to first base. To Ha-seong Kim, who played as a utility player in San Diego, second base is no longer an unfamiliar position. On the contrary, if you put a little more burden on defense, there is a good chance of improving other indicators. At second base, a better defensive evaluation is also expected.
North American sports media ‘The Athletic’ also said on the 3rd (Korean time) about San Diego’s infield, ‘San Diego, which signed a contract with shortstop Zander Bogarts, is expected to see significant positional changes as Kim Ha-seong moves to second base and Cronenworth moves to first base.’ He did not hide his expectation, saying, “With Manny Machado on third base, San Diego will be the best (infield) defense in the National League.”
When Fernando Tatis Jr., who is out of drug use discipline, returns, the outfield lineup will also be overhauled. Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto take over the corner outfield, and Gold Glove former outfielder Trent Grisham guards the center. In addition, with the addition of veterans Matt Carpenter and Nelson Crews, San Diego’s offense is expected to be much better than last year.메이저사이트
‘The Athletic’ said ‘It’s the most exciting thing to see Soto, Tatis and Machado hit back to back every night. All three are players who can hit the best weapons of the best pitchers,” he said. “I think San Diego should trade another starter between now and the trade deadline, but they are a team that can win the World Series.” did not spare
In the major league power rankings compiled by ‘The Athletic’, San Diego ranked 6th. This is the highest in the National League West, ranking next to Houston, New York Yankees, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York Mets. The LA Dodgers, which had been the strongest team in the world for a long time, were in 7th place, one notch below San Diego.