As we head into the second half of the season, prospects for the major league free agent (FA) market are emerging one by one. The biggest word in the free agent market this year is definitely Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), and all attention will be focused on Ohtani’s future.메이저사이트
However, Korean fans are interested in what club’s uniform Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom), who will challenge the major leagues with the posting system, will wear. And he proved his interest by putting his name on the free agent player rankings that the major leagues are paying attention to.
Jim Bowden, a former major league general manager and columnist, announced the 30th place in the free agent rankings in the North American sports media ‘The Athletic’. Lee Jung-hoo’s name was placed at number 27.
“Major league scouts have mixed opinions about Jung-hoo Lee’s hitting ability,” Bowden said. Someone believes that he will hit the major leagues right away, and others think that he will have time to adapt and learn about 1-2 years against pitchers at the major league level. loaded
He continued, “Also, some people believe he will be a .27 batting average, while others envision a .30 batting average.”
Lee Jung-hoo’s strengths were his pioneering vision and contact ability. Bowden explained, ‘The best part of Lee Jung-hoo’s batting ability is his ability to get walks and his contact rate,’ and ‘he walked more than he struck out in seven seasons in the KBO.’
Lee Jeong-hoo has a KBO League career batting average of 344, 1181 hits, 65 home runs, 515 RBIs, 581 runs scored, 69 stolen bases, and an OPS of .898. He especially proved with a record that his contact ability and forward thinking were strengths, as he walked 383 while striking out 304.
On defense and running, he is a ‘plus’ center fielder with plus defensive range and strong throwing ability. He has a good start to the bat and good batting judgment,’ he added, ‘he has a long stride and is an above-average runner, but no stealing threat.’
In addition, explaining Lee Jung-hoo’s dominance by saying, “Lee Jung-hoo is not exceptional in power, but he is the MVP player who dominates the KBO,” he said, “He suffered an ankle injury and will decide the rest of the season. Nevertheless, he will move to the major league team this year,’ he said, saying that the ankle injury would not hinder Lee Jung-hoo’s advance into the major leagues.
Lee Jung-hoo went through a severe slump at the beginning of this year, but he quickly picked up his pace and recorded an OPS of .863 with 6 homers, 45 RBIs, 50 points and 6 steals in 85 games with a batting average of 3.19 (105 hits in 329 at-bats). However, on July 22, during the defense against Sajik Lotte, he suffered an injury to his left ankle and was diagnosed with damage to the extensor belt. He was virtually out of the season after being told that it would take about three months to rehabilitate after surgery.
However, scouting for Lee Jung-hoo by major league clubs has ended. After Lee Jung-hoo recovers from his injury, he just needs to wait for the time for his major league challenge to come.
Meanwhile, in this free agent ranking, Ohtani took first place, and Cody Bellinger, a revived MVP, rose to sixth place. Yamamoto Yoshinobu (Orix), who won four crowns for two consecutive years, who will challenge the major leagues in Japanese professional baseball, rose to ninth overall. “I was moved by Yamamoto’s pitching at the World Baseball Classic,” Bowden said. He felt like a solid third starter who could keep his spot in the major league starting rotation with double-digit wins and an earned run average of 3,’ he said.