‘No. 1 overall out of 157 ML’ Kim Ha-Sung faces too many tired pitchers, 4.46 pitches per at-bat

토스카지노Pitchers facing Ha-Sung Kim (28, San Diego Padres) have their work cut out for them, whether they get an out or not. Kim’s relentless bite has made him an increasingly difficult hitter for pitchers.

On April 26 (KST), Kim batted first and second against the Washington Nationals and went 3-for-4 with his eighth home run of the season and two walks. He drew 23 pitches in five at-bats, including a seven-pitch, full-count walk in his final at-bat in the ninth inning.

Kim has seen 1227 pitches in 275 at-bats this season. His 4.46 pitches per plate appearance ranks first overall among 157 major league hitters with at least one full plate appearance. He sees more pitches than second-place Max Muncy (LA Dodgers – 4.41) and is tormenting pitchers.

Pitch counts per at-bat are usually dominated by big guns. Pitchers are forced to be cautious with one-out hitters, which leads to a lot of pitches. Muncy, the 162-homer slugger, led the league in pitches per at-bat last year (4.32).

Kim Ha-soo is also noteworthy in that he’s a long hitter, but not in the typical Geppo style. He hit 21 first-pitch strikes, but he had far more full-count wins, 50. With 19 two-pitch at-bats and 44 three-pitch at-bats, he has 84 three-pitch or fewer at-bats, but 190 four-pitch or more at-bats, more than double the number.

This season, Kim is 4-for-2 with an OPS of 1.053 on first-pitch strikes and 3-for-7 with an OPS of 1.125 on three-pitch strikes in 1-1 pitch counts. It’s hard for pitchers to get into games quickly. There are bound to be a lot of walks in the early counts, but Kim picks them carefully.

Kim’s pitches per at-bat have continued to increase from 3.96 in 2021, his first year in the majors, to 4.03 last year and 4.46 this year. In the KBO, he ranked 6th in total pitches per plate appearance in 2015 (4.23), his first full-time year, but his pitches per plate appearance decreased from 12th in 2016 (4.12), 19th in 2017 (3.95), 23rd in 2018 (3.94), 35th in 2019 (3.75), and 47th in 2020 (3.71).

Whereas in the KBO, players batted in the center of the batting order (2-5) and became more aggressive, in the major leagues, players batted in the bottom of the order (6 and above) and focused on increasing the number of pitches to avoid getting killed. Starters who are nearing their pitch count limits are often harassed in the middle and late stages of the game to force them out.

This has been a strength of Kim’s recently in the top of the order. In his last four games in the leadoff spot, he’s exploded for a 2-for-6, 7 RBI (15-for-4), three home runs, five RBI, four doubles, two triples, a .421 OPS and a 1.288 slugging percentage.