“Bae Ji-hwan (24, Pittsburgh Pirates) will have many opportunities to play wherever he plays.”
On the 24th (Korean time), the Pittsburgh fan site ‘Lumbutter’ wrote about Bae Ji-hwan, who is playing in Pittsburgh. Bae Ji-hwan debuted in the big leagues last year and performed impressively. Despite the few opportunities he had at the end of the season, he posted a batting average of 0.333 (11-for-33), 6 RBIs, 3 steals, and an OPS of 0.829. 메이저놀이터
Bae Ji-hwan proved his potential in his first year in the big leagues. Much attention is being paid to his second year. Pittsburgh acquired a variety of off-season players. Starting with another Korean big leaguer Choi Ji-man (32), the team was reinforced by trading Carlos Santana (37) and Andrew McCutchen (37) as free agents. Bae Ji-hwan is expected to serve as a backup with the addition of veterans, but is expected to still receive many opportunities to play.
‘Lumbutter’ explained, “Bae Ji-hwan has good contact ability and the ability to consistently get walks. His power is not well known, but he is slowly rising.”
“Bae Ji-hwan is fast, and his ability to pick out hits and walks is in great harmony. He also made two 30-base seasons in the minor leagues for three years. He also started 4 times as a second baseman and 6 times as an outfielder. I digested more defensive innings as an outfielder such as center fielder and left fielder than (main position) infielder,” adding Bae Ji-hwan’s versatility.
‘Lumbutter’ emphasized that Bae Ji-hwan has potential in the outfield even though it is difficult to find a place in the infield. “Bae Ji-hwan makes the outfield situation interesting. There are McCutchen and Connor Joe (31), but when there is a right-handed pitcher on the mound, you can use him.” “He’ll catch it. He’ll also be a strong leadoff candidate. He has good contact ability, avoiding strikeouts and getting walks. Unlike Kevin Newman (30), he has a remarkable slugging percentage in the minors.”
Regardless of starting position, Bae Ji-hwan is expected to energize the team in many ways. Attention is focusing on what kind of results Bae Ji-hwan’s versatility will produce.