Korean prospects playing in the minor leagues of Major League Baseball have been delivering good news.
One of the best is St. Louis’ Won Bin Cho, 20. Playing for Single-A Palm Beach, Cho has been on fire this summer, hitting his third home run of the season. An unblemished ball, field, and week at the plate, Cho is batting .289 with 54 hits (three home runs), 메이저놀이터 26 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases after a slow start to the season. He’s on pace for 20 steals and leads the team in stolen bases. A promotion to Double-A as early as July may not be out of the question.
After returning to High-Single-A Great Lakes in May following a rehab assignment, Choi has been consistently earning starts since his return, including two consecutive no-hitters. He did have a brief setback, giving up two home runs in the process, but with a 2-1 record and a 2.00 ERA, he is still on track for promotion to Double-A. He is proving that his Minor League Player of the Year award was no fluke.
After impressing in his debut with four innings of eight-strikeout baseball, Shim seems to be settling into a groove as he continued his dominance in his second outing. In his second outing, which lasted 1 and 1/3 innings, Sim gave up one run on a home run, but struck out two to bring his season total to 10. He has a 1.69 ERA in two starts, which is quite good. Most importantly, he has proven that his power is working against American hitters.
Uhm Hyung-chan, who was assigned to the Arizona Rookie League after joining Kansas City, still needs to be given a chance. After four games, he is batting .143 with two hits and no RBIs. He’s been calm enough to draw three walks, and his on-base percentage is more than a full percentage higher than his batting average (0.294). It’s still early in the season, and he’s a rare breed of catcher, so there’s plenty to look forward to.
Atlanta’s Hyo-Jun Park (27) is also looking to get back to the majors after hitting his third home run of the season. Of course, his season stats aren’t great, with a .257 batting average, 38 hits (3 home runs), and 19 RBIs, but in a league with so many variables, Park should have a chance.
