SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization have announced that they will post left-hander Kwang-Hyun Kim this offseason, according to a report from the Yonhap news agency (tip of the cap to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net for passing the news along). Kim initially expressed interest in pitching in North America prior to the 2014 season, and he now has the necessary seven seasons of KBO service time to qualify for posting.
Kim, 26, posted a 3.42 ERA over 28 starts this season, finishing in the top five in ERA, wins and strikeouts amongst the league’s pitchers. It was a rebound year for Kim, who went through some injury issues from 2011-13 following an impressive start to his KBO career, as he was named the league’s MVP in 2008. The southpaw pitched for South Korea in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and fared poorly, allowing nine runs in only 3 1/3 innings of work. Kurtz has compiled a YouTube playlist of some Kim highlights for a better look at the lefty’s pitching style.
Please tell me he is related to Byung-Hyun Kim.
One can only hope!
Unfortunately 21% of Koreans have Kim as their surname…
I am waiting for Ohtani or Maeda from Japan. Both can have succes in MLB
Sounds like he’d fit in nicely with the Rockies.
My guess is his overall cost will be in the same range as Nori Aoki cost the Brewers ($2.5M posting fee and 2 year/$2.5M deal with a team option. Wouldn’t be a bad pick up for a small market team looking to add some rotation depth..
Phillies? Wouldn’t be a bad investment on a 3 year deal to replace Kendrick.
Can’t really read anything into those stats. The KBO is about high-A level and it’s full of bandbox parks, so playing there is about like playing in the California League. A 3.42 ERA is actually pretty good for those conditions, but the big question is whether or not his stuff can translate to the major leagues. Kim will make or break some scout’s reputation.
KBO is definitely better than high-A level (why so many AAA pitchers fail there?), I don’t know where you got that. To the best of my knowledge, parks are not smaller than Japanese ones. But concerning Kim Kwang-hyun, I’m not sure many teams will be interested in him as a starter, considering his control problems (he has a 4+ career BB/9, even topped 5 at least once I think)
He’d probably end up being a number 5 starter or a lefty option out the bullpen. He’s somewhat young but he’s only thrown close to 200 innings once and he has an average K’rate.
I hope he doesn’t throw submarine, because then I would be suspicious of BK trying to sneak back into the league.
This guy used to be the best pitcher in Korea along with Ryu who’s now pitching for the Dodgers. Unfortunately Kim’s injuries bothered him greatly for past 2-3 yrs. They are saying he finally turned it around this year.