카지노사이트Samsung’s 2023 season is tough. But it’s not without harvest. One of the most prominent is Kim Hyun-jun, 21. He’s gotten off to a slow start due to injury, but he’s on a furious pace.
Through eight days, he has 42 games, 160 at-bats, 51 hits, a .319 batting average, two home runs, 12 RBIs, 21 runs scored, a .371 on-base percentage, a .400 slugging percentage, and a .771 OPS.
While he hasn’t gotten a lot of plate appearances, he’s the best hitter on the team. He leads the team’s offense primarily as a table-setter. Recently, he has taken over the No. 1 spot with Kim Ji-chan out for a while. He is fulfilling the role of ‘assault leader’.
He joined the team in 2021. He was drafted in the 9th round of the rookie draft. 83rd overall. The lower rounds have been likened to a lottery. There is a strong view that ‘it’s great if you get picked, but you can’t do anything if you don’t’.
He came to the pros because of his talent, but there is a difference between him and a higher round pick. It is not uncommon for a player to be registered as a developmental player and not be included in the official roster, but Kim Hyun-jun was named as an official player from the first year. He played in 13 games for the first team. He had four at-bats and one hit. His presence was minimal.
In 2022, he broke into the first team, and “broke out” is the right word. In 118 games, he batted .275 with 22 doubles, 57 RBI, a .365 on-base percentage, a .350 slugging percentage, and a .715 OPS. He was also nominated for Rookie of the Year.
This season, his second in fact, he looks to be even better. It didn’t start out well. In an exhibition game, he fractured the metacarpal bone in his right hand while swinging. He underwent surgery.
He didn’t return until May. On May 19, he played his first game of the season against the Changwon NC. He went 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI. However, he didn’t have a great May, batting just .237.
That changed in June. In 25 games, he had a hit in 18 of them. He had six multi-hit games and four games with three or more hits. He hit .305 for the month and upped his season average to .286.In July, he exploded. In six games through Aug. 8, he’s 13-for-27 with a .481 batting average. He had four hits against Hanwha in Daegu on the 1st, three against Doosan in Pohang on the 4th, and four against Doosan in Pohang on the 5th.
This pushed his season batting average over .300. At this pace, a triple in his rookie season seems likely. Even though batting average isn’t as valuable as it used to be, it still means a lot to be a triple hitter.
His defense is also good. He has made several outfield assists to protect Samsung’s outfield. With Park Hae-min’s departure to LG via free agency, there was a problem in the middle infield, but Kim Hyun-joon has completely filled the void and has become an ‘indispensable’ player.
He is now a 21-year-old player in his third year of high school. Last year was actually his first year. Because he performed so well, he could have had a ‘second-year jinx’.
There is no such thing. He’s firmly established himself as Samsung’s starting center fielder. We can only wonder what it would have been like if he had started the season injury-free.