Hyeseong Kim was considered one of the best bats in Korea, and when it was announced that Kim was going to be making the move to Major League Baseball, many teams were linked as potential fits.
Guessing no one guessed this one as his ultimate landing spot.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to terms with utility player Hyeseong Kim on a three-year contract for $12.5 million with a two-year club option for 2028 and 2029. The Dodgers designated catcher Diego Cartaya to make room on the 40-man roster.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 3, 2025
The team options will reportedly be for $22 million for the 2028-2029 seasons. That team option will have to be picked up together; meaning it essentially becomes a new two-year contract.
Let’s take a look at what Kim brings to the Dodgers, and whether or not it has a chance to be relevant in fantasy.
Who is Hyeseong Kim, and what kind of numbers did he put up in Korea?
Kim spent eight years in the Korea Baseball Organization, and the 25-year-old was with the Kiwoom Heroes for the last six of his run in the KBO. He’s steadily become one of the best hitters in the league, and even after scuffling as a teenager, he ends his time with a slash of .304/.363/.403 in 953 career games.
Solid numbers, but Kim has really taken off over the last four seasons. He hit .304 with 46 stolen bases in 2021, and he followed that breakout campaign with slashes of .318/.373/.403 in 2022, .335/.396/.446 in 2023, and .326/.383/.458 last year; all while stealing 89 bases over those final three seasons and only being caught 16 times in that timeframe. He also won three Golden Gloves from 2021-2023, once as a shortstop and twice as a second baseman.
Simply put, Kim has been one of the most productive players in the KBO, and now he gets a chance to show how well his skill set plays at the major-league level.
What are the strengths of Kim’s game?
It doesn’t take a genius to know what Kim’s best assets are. As you can guess from those numbers, the infielder has a contact-oriented game; one that emphasizes putting the ball into play. He struck out just 62 times in 567 plate appearances in 2024, or just under 11 percent for added context. He also drew 47 walks in that timeframe (8.2 percent), showing that he’s an assertive hitter who will draw a decent amount of free passes. A left-handed hitter, Kim will slash the baseball to all parts of the field, and he’s just as likely to lash a baseball into left-center as he is to pull a ball…