As a Korean-American, I take pride in the job that the “Motherland” has done producing quality products recently. Samsung, LG, and Hyundai are all now well-respected brands. But you can’t forget about the most treasured export: K-pop. (Anytime I’m given an opportunity to insert a GIF of beautiful women dancing, it’s done. You are all welcome.) It wasn’t always so rosy in the land of Seoul though…
Remember this POS? This probably prompted Yugo to export their own POS. Darko said to Goran: “That would be our competition? Seriously? Mozemo izgraditi bolju govno od toga! Da comrade. Da.”
What’s all this have to do with fantasy baseball? It’s been a long road, but South Korean-born baseball players are now respected and could be assets on your fantasy baseball team. Before I delve into the three newest imports, let me take you on a trip down memory lane.
Chan Ho Park, the first South Korean-born player to play in MLB, actually had a decent career: 124-98 record, 4.36 ERA, 1.396 WHIP, and 1,715 strikeouts in 1,993 innings. Unfortunately…
Yes, two grand slams in the SAME inning! I’m a Dodgers fan so that one hurt Doublemint style. And then there’s this…
Master Kim of the Kong Ju City Taekwondo Dojang was not happy.
It took five years for another Korean-born player to make an impact. Byung-Hyun Kim was a pitcher who accumulated a 4.42 ERA, 1.376 WHIP, 86 saves and 806 strikeouts in 841 innings over his nine-year career. Unfortunately, he’s best known for his performance in the 2001 World Series: Game 4 and Game 5.
The first hitter to make it to the Show was Hee-Seop Choi in 2002, the Korean James Loney. Further analysis is unnecessary. Then Shin-Soo Choo came over in 2005 at age 22. It took him about four years to get acclimated but acclimate he did with tattoos and 20/20 seasons. Then the Dark Ages occurred with no Korean-born player making the majors until Hyun-Jin Ryu and Jung Ho Kang came over in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
For the 2016 season, there have been two Korean-born hitters and one pitcher signed to major league teams: Hyun-Soo Kim by the Baltimore Orioles, Byung-Ho Park by the Minnesota Twins and Seung-Hwan Oh by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Let’s start with Kim. He is 28 years old, 6’2″ 209 pounds and bats from the left side of the plate. He’s nicknamed the “Iron Man” because of his durability, playing 98 percent of games over a 10-year period in Korea. He topped 20 homers three times, with a high of 28 in 2015, and had an OBP of over .400 four times. His career OBP is .406. His career BA of .318 is impressive, but what really gets my blood flowing like watching one of those K-pop videos is that he’s walked more than he’s struck out (597 BB vs 501 K). He won’t contribute much in the stolen base department, as he only topped 10 SBs twice. RosterResource.com has Kim projected to bat leadoff and play left field so there’s that. If he indeed does win the starting left field position and bats leadoff for the Orioles in Camden Yards, Yahtzee! All I know is the boy has a good eye and can hit. There’s a lot of unknown regarding Kim. Do his skills translate? Will there be a culture shock? Blah blah blah. If a boy can hit, a boy can hit. Did they ask Peter North or Ron Jeremy when they filmed abroad the same question?
Park is 29 years old and 6’1″ 236 pounds. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How much is a video worth? And who is “they” anyway? Here is Park in however many words a video is worth…
In nine seasons in the KBO (Korean Baseball Organization), Park hit .281/.387/.564 with 210 home runs in 2,748 at-bats. In his last two seasons, he belted 52 and 53 home runs respectively. He did strikeout 801 times to only 432 walks, but with the bat flipping prowess he possesses, who gives a F@#! RosterResource.com has Park hitting seventh from the DH spot. If you need some cheap power later in the draft, Park could be your man.
Oh is a 33-year-old right-handed relief pitcher. He is 5’10” 202 pounds. He pitched nine years in Korea and the last two in Japan. In 11 seasons, Oh went 32-20 and posted a 1.81 ERA, 0.854 WHIP, struck out 772 batters with only 149 walks and accumulated 357 saves in 646 innings pitched. He earned the nicknames “Stone Buddha” and “Final Boss” because of his ability to close out games in cold-blooded fashion. His arsenal consists of a fastball that sits in the low-90s but can reach 95 mph if needed. The slider is his out pitch and he also throws a curveball and splitter. He is slated to be the setup man for closer Trevor Rosenthal, so his fantasy value is tied to the health or performance of Rosenthal.
Are these guys going to be stars? Probably not but that doesn’t mean you should overlook them. While the KBO is not on par with MLB, these players dominated the competition they faced. It’s not their fault the other guys sucked. They are highly motivated to perform well in the states and are grizzled veterans, so the spotlight should not be too much for them. With that said, there is a jump in the competition level so expect some adjustment period. The great thing is that you won’t have to spend high draft capital to acquire them.
If you just came here for the GIFs, I don’t blame you.
You can reach SON on the Twitter @Stan_Son.
