Kim Ha-sung, who is going to the FA market after this season, is receiving favorable reviews from local media.
MLB Trade Loomers, a major league media outlet, released the June version of the 2024-25 FA power ranking on the 28th (Korea Standard Time).
Kim Ha-sung is ranked eighth in the rankings. This season ends Kim's four-year contract with the San Diego Padres. There remains a mutually agreed option for the 2025 season, but it seems unlikely that this option will be implemented.
MLB Traderoom said Kim Ha-sung is the best defensive player among FA players this season, referring to San Diego's exchange of positions between Kim Ha-sung and Xander Bogaerts ahead of this season.
Kim Ha-sung has 10 defensive errors at shortstop this season, but at the same time, he has played 724 2/3 innings, the most in the Major League. He has been consistent with several defensive indicators, including DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) +1 and OAA (Out Above Average) +4.
His offense capability is a bit disappointing. He has a batting average of 0.223 with a 0.333 on-base percentage and a 0.385 slugging percentage, just above the league average this season.
MLB Trade Rumors said Kim Ha-sung has the ability to contact level-level Jeon Hae-an, has similar numbers of walks (46) and strikeouts (50) this season, and that he is not lucky enough to have only 0.236 hits (in-play hits) this season, and that the strong batting ratio (35.5%) is recording career high, but "it will not be a big threat at-bats."토토사이트 모음
At the same time, the media positively assessed that Kim Ha-sung's WAR (contribution to victory compared to alternative players) exceeded 4 in the previous two seasons, and that this season is going at a similar pace.
They expected him to receive a five-year contract in the FA market, noting that Kim Ha-sung's contact skills, defense, and base running skills make him an "above average player," and that he is also young at 29 years old in the first year of his FA contract.