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2023 Player Outlook

2023 Recap: The former KBO MVP can best be described as a wizard with the bat in his hands. In terms of his strikeout rate, his worst season came as a 19-year-old in 2018 when he struck out 11.2 percent of the time. However, he’s posted a higher walk rate than strikeout rate in each of his last four seasons in the KBO, and he’s never recorded a season with lower than a .318 batting average. The power waned in 2023, and outside of his 23 home runs in 2022, and 15 home runs in 2020, power has never been a big part of his game. 

2024 Outlook: We have seen some players that come from the KBO struggle early on, and it can sometimes take a bit to transition to life in the United States and Major League Baseball. He’ll need some time to get used to higher velocity on a more consistent basis, but you can’t teach his bat-to-ball skills and feel for the batter’s box and strike zone. Even if he doesn’t replicate his .300+ average from the KBO in his first year with the Giants, which is something we shouldn’t expect by the way, he’ll provide above-average defense and a contact-first offensive profile with more emphasis on contact quantity than quality. While I'm a bit skeptical of where his power will come in at, if he can exceed expectations either in the power or speed category, he's going to be a solid fantasy value as a .280+ hitter at the top of the San Francisco lineup. His ADP is steadily rising, but outside the top 200 is too cheap for the young outfielder.