![\"Dodgers\u2019](\"https:\/\/www.pressenterprise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AP25152018104933.jpg?w=525\")
<\/p>\nThe rookie keeps building his case with impact at the plate, standout defense and a growing case for a bigger role in the Dodgers\u2019 lineup<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 Hyeseong Kim is a problem.<\/p>\n
For opponents. For the Dodgers.<\/p>\n
A good problem, if you\u2019re the club employing and enjoying him.<\/p>\n
First the versatile 26-year-old MLB rookie and Korean Baseball Organization All-Star wouldn\u2019t let the Dodgers send him back down to the minor leagues, forcing them instead to make a choice \u2013 and making the decision easy between him and Chris Taylor, a nine-year mainstay who the club released on May 18.<\/p>\n
And now? Kim might not let the Dodgers put him back on the bench much more, though where he\u2019ll play and whose innings he\u2019ll take creates an exquisite conundrum for a club as loaded as his is.<\/p>\n
But c\u2019mon! How can anyone watch this young talent not want to see less pine and more maple, or ash or birch or whatever components make up the bats he\u2019s using to spray the ball all over the field \u2013 and beyond?<\/p>\n
Because even on Saturday, as the Dodgers ganged up mercilessly on the New York Yankees, reasserting their dominance with a gaudy 18-2 victory over the team they beat in last season\u2019s World Series, the new guy stood out.<\/p>\n
Yes, veteran slugger Max Muncy hit two home runs \u2013 the 200th and 201st of his career \u2013 but Kim, the guy who they call \u201cComet\u201d in South Korea, who strolls to the plate to a song called \u201cComet\u201d by South Korean singer Younha, he showed us his K-pop off the bat, raking a 412-foot second-inning homer to right-center field.<\/p>\n
And, yep, Freddie Freeman passed Ken Griffey Jr. and tied Willie Mays and Ted Williams with his 525th career double, but Kim\u2019s one-man double play \u2013 snagging a line drive and then diving to tag second base with his glove, taking Austin Wells from the basepaths in the third inning \u2013 will be the play I remember most.<\/p>\n
That sequence \u2013 and Kim\u2019s assist off the carom from center field to nab Aaron Judge at second base \u2013 showed off not only his athleticism, but his savvy, and it had the Dodgers\u2019 official social media accounts tweeting: \u201cHyeseong him!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMade a great play defensively that saved (winning pitcher) Landon (Knack),\u201d said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who started Kim at shortstop in place of Mookie Betts, who missed the fun because he was out with a broken toe.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd to get Judge \u2013 the throw, showed the arm strength there. Played a really heck of a ball game \u2026 he\u2019s an all-around good baseball player.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n View this post on Instagram<\/strong><\/p>\n A post shared by Dodgers Dugout (@dodgers_dugout)<\/strong><\/p>\n While the Dodgers (36-22) spent the game running it up, their onslaught pushing them past the Chicago Cubs in the running total of most runs \u2013 340 \u2013 in the majors, the baby big leaguer offered a heavyweight\u2019s contribution from the back of the order, going 4 for 4 with a walk, two RBIs and three runs scored.<\/p>\n That pushed his 21-game average to .422. He\u2019s collected 19 hits in 45 at-bats and scored 13 runs \u2013 numbers that only help him build his case for more playing time, your honor. Put him in, Coach.<\/p>\n Whatever the Dodgers expected in early May, when they called up Kim, he\u2019s exceeded it.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got really good instincts out there,\u201d Muncy said. \u201cReally fun to watch.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The already-forgotten notion a few weeks ago seemed to be that Kim\u2019s speed could make him an asset off the bench while Tommy Edman was injured. And that when Edman returned, Kim likely was headed back to Triple-A Oklahoma City to continue to refine his approach at the plate \u2013 an initial demotion he didn\u2019t expect, but that he didn\u2019t complain about either.<\/p>\n Instead, he made the most of his time in Triple-A, focusing on leveraging his lower half, down-sizing his leg kick, improving his power \u2013 while hitting .252 with eight doubles, one triple, five home runs, 19 RBIs and a .798 OPS and also stealing 13 bases in 13 attempts. At OKC, Kim \u2013 who signed a three-year, $12.5 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason \u2013 played second base, shortstop and center field.<\/p>\n And he proved a quick study. Because with every opportunity since being called up, the left-handed-hitting Kim has been telling the Dodgers he belongs.<\/p>\n That he could be a problem for Miguel Rojas, the veteran infielder who went 0 for 2 and grounded into the Dodgers\u2019 only double play, his batting average dropping to .224.<\/p>\n That Kim wants to take the baton and run with it, like he had to run postgame, unavailable to comment on his good day that left everyone else buzzing.<\/p>\n \u201cHyeseong, there\u2019s just something about him,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThat youthful enthusiasm, that joy, he\u2019s just happy to be out there, happy to be on the team, and guys feed off the energy, and he takes really good at-bats, he competes.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, you know, giving him some runway, he\u2019s making good on and taking advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kim\u2019s next window for takeoff, Roberts said: Monday night against the New York Mets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The rookie keeps building his case with impact at the plate, standout defense and a growing case for a bigger role in the Dodgers\u2019 lineup LOS ANGELES… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n