Kim Ha-seong, this year looks like a real Gold Glove! Various defensive indicators ‘Running to No. 1’
Kim Ha-seong (28‧ San Diego) proved that he is a player who is prepared as a full-time starting shortstop taking advantage of the injury and disciplinary gap of Fernando Tatis Jr., who was the team’s main shortstop last year. His offense has also risen above league average, and above all, he has shown off his true value in his defense.
There is still a prejudice that ‘Asian infielders have weak defense’. It is said that he struggles with batting balls that are much faster than Asian baseball. In fact, there were many cases where top-notch defenders representing Japan suffered failure in defense in the United States. In particular, top-notch shortstop players could not adapt and often moved to second base. However, Kim Ha-seong broke this wall beautifully with a brilliant defense full of energy while being stable.
Kim Ha-seong was selected as a finalist for the National League Gold Glove last year. Of course, the award went to Dansby Swanson (now Chicago Cubs) as expected, but it is a story that Kim Ha-seong토토사이트 was at least in the top 3. The Gold Glove is selected not only by defensive indicators, but also by voting by major league coaching staff and players. Being recognized by my peers in the industry in which I work together was truly a great achievement.
Kim Ha-seong moved his position this year. This is because San Diego acquired All-Star shortstop Xander Bogarts for 11 offseason years and a total of $290 million. Kim Ha-seong moved to second base, which is less burdensome on defense than shortstop. There were positive prospects that he would become more laid back in both offense and defense. The offense has some ups and downs, but the defense definitely shows its effect.
While the April schedule is also coming to an end, the record clearly shows that Kim Ha-seong’s defensive indicators are at the highest level in the league beyond the league’s top class. There is an evaluation that defense indicators are somewhat less reliable than attack indicators, but they are widely used as reference materials. There are many indicators to measure, but not one is number 1, but multiple number 1. This is the part that shows Kim Ha-sung’s defensive power.
According to ‘Fangraph’, Kim Ha-seong is currently recording DRS 4 on the 24th (Korean time). DRS is an indicator that measures how well a fielder blocks a run through defense. It means that Kim Ha-seong has already blocked about 4 points. This figure ranks first among second basemen in the league. There are only 7 second basemen, including Kim Ha-seong, who are recording DRS 2 or higher.
OAA, which has developed along with the Statcast era, also ranks first in the league. OAA is an index that measures how well a defender has prevented runs against the average by comprehensively considering batted ball speed and direction, as well as the quality of the batted ball. Recently, it is evaluated as the most reliable indicator, and Kim Ha-seong recorded OAA 3, which is also the first among second basemen.
According to Statcast and OAA’s tally, Ha-seong Kim was supposed to show a batted ball handling rate of around 74%, but actually handled 78%, 4% more than expected. He said he caught 4 percent more hits that the computer couldn’t even process. In particular, Kim Ha-sung’s right hand, that is, the handling of hits to the second base base is counted as excellent. It is not a figure that can be obtained by stably handling only the balls that come in front of you.
Of course, it’s still early in the season, and these numbers are subject to change with each error in the game. However, you can fully read the fact that Kim Ha-seong is adapting to second base and showing the highest level of defense. It comes to the conclusion that he can become a strong candidate for the Gold Glove even if he continues to play as a starting player and maintains the current level of defense.