Hyeseong Kim was considered one of the best bats in Korea, and when it was announced that Kim was going to join Major League Baseball, many teams were linked as potential candidates.
I guess no one guessed that this was his final landing spot.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a three-year, $12.5 million contract with utility player Hyeseong Kim with a two-year club option for 2028 and 2029. The Dodgers have designated catcher Diego Cartaya to place on the 40-man roster.
– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 3, 2025
Team options reportedly amount to $22 million for the 2028-29 seasons. This team option must be chosen together; meaning it’s essentially a new two-year contract.
Let’s take a look at what Kim brings to the Dodgers and whether or not it has a chance of being relevant in fantasy.
Who is Hyeseong Kim and what kind of numbers has he posted in Korea?
Kim spent eight years in the Korean Baseball Organization and the 25-year-old spent the last six years with the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO. He gradually became one of the league’s best hitters, and even after struggling as a teenager, he finished his tenure with a .304/.363/.403 mark in 953 career games.
Solid numbers, but Kim has really taken off over the last four seasons. He hit .304 with 46 stolen bases in 2021, and he followed that breakout campaign with slashes of .318/.373/.403 in 2022, .335/.396/.446 in 2023 and .326/ .383/. 458 last year; while stealing 89 bases over the past three seasons and being caught just 16 times over that span. He also won three Golden Gloves from 2021 to 2023, once as a shortstop and twice as a second baseman.
Simply put, Kim has been one of the most productive players in the KBO, and now he has the opportunity to showcase just how well his skills play at the major league level.
What are the strengths of Kim’s game?
It doesn’t take a genius to know what Kim’s best assets are. As you might guess from these numbers, the infielder has a contact-oriented game; one that emphasizes putting the ball into play. He’s struck out just 62 times in 567 plate appearances in 2024, which is just under 11 percent for context. He’s also issued 47 walks in that span (8.2 percent), showing that he’s an assertive hitter who will get a decent number of free passes. A left-handed hitter, Kim will throw the ball to all parts of the field, and he’s just as likely to throw a ball to left center as he is to fire a ball through the hole between first and second.
Once on base, Kim has quality speed and he reads pitchers well to help him get a good lead on his steal attempts. It also helps him defensively, and while he’s not immune to mistakes, he has more than enough range to be a quality player at the keystone.
What issues could get Kim into trouble?
As you can probably tell from the hitting percentages listed in his stats above, Kim is not known as a power hitter. He’s hit a career-high 11 homers in 2024, but only one of them came in the second half of the season, and he’s a 5-foot-10, 176-pound infielder whose swing/construction is not intended for the long ball. That’s an understatement. Although Kim had many hard contacts, the vast majority of them took place on the ground, as his GB rate of 58.1% in 2024 was the lowest of his career.
Will Kim be an everyday player for the Dodgers in 2025?
Define “every day.”
The Dodgers weren’t considered among the favorites to land Kim largely because they didn’t seem to need him. Los Angeles had already announced that Mookie Betts was moving to the infield full time, and the club already has Gavin Lux – more on him in a second – and Miguel Rojas as well as other options who can play outfield. middle like Tommy Edman and Chris Taylor. Long story short, the Dodgers’ interest in Kim makes sense from a cost standpoint, but it was perhaps a little surprising to see Kim choose the Dodgers if he wants to secure that everyday role.
That said, there is an opportunity here. Lux has shown flashes of what made him baseball’s top prospect not too long ago, but he’s dealt with injuries and hasn’t shown much consistency even when he’s healthy, and he will be a free agent at the end of the 2026 season. It would make sense for the Dodgers to deal Lux to a team looking for a second baseman (Seattle perhaps?) and get some help on the farm or perhaps a pitcher who could add depth to a rotation that has had injury issues and then some in the past. Taylor has been horrible in 2024, and Rojas is best presented as a utility player on a team aiming for a second straight championship.
So no, maybe Kim isn’t in the lineup every day, but it’s hard to believe he’s choosing the Dodgers if he isn’t lucky enough to get much playing time.
Is Kim someone you would want on your fantasy team for 2025?
Probably.
Now, I’m not counting on Kim to be my starting second baseman, and I probably won’t be my starting infielder in standard leagues either. With all due respect to what he did in the KBO, this isn’t the KBO, and it’s more than fair to expect an adjustment period in a league where pitchers throw a lot stronger and where the quality and quantity are significantly higher. I also have serious doubts about his ability to deliver more than a dozen homers, meaning he’ll essentially have to max out the ERA and steal the class to be worthy of a starting job on a fantasy team.
That said, I think there are reasons to want Kim on your bench. It’s likely he’ll hit at the bottom of the order to start his career, and while that will give him fewer chances to drive in runs, it’s also an opportunity – if he can reach base enough to get in profit – let yourself be led by Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez. The Dodgers ranked 10th in stolen bases in 2024, and while most of that production will come from Ohtani, it seems likely they’ll let Kim run to get into scoring position in front of three Hall of Famers. fame. And again, while the contract doesn’t scream “everyday stalwart,” it’s just hard to imagine Kim joining Los Angeles without knowing he’ll be on the field more often than not. A potential .300 hitter who could score a (relatively) high number of runs and throw 30 steals is well worth having on your bench. The worst thing that can happen is that you move on to another option over the summer.
