Major League Baseball’s (MLB) newest “Chief of Staff,” Ha-Sung Kim, 28, of the San Diego Padres, has been mentioned as a possible Most Valuable Player (MVP) candidate for the 2023 season. While his chances of winning the award are slim, the mere mention of his name speaks volumes about his performance this season.
On Monday, MLB.com released the results of a mock MLB MVP voting poll of 48 experts for the 2023 season. The voters ranked players from the American League (AL) and National League (NL) from first through fifth place. In Kim’s NL, Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves) took the top spot with 45 first-place votes. Freddie Freeman (3 first-place votes) was second, and Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers) was third.
MLB.com mentions Kim as one of the mock voters in the fifth spot. While we don’t know how many votes Kim received, it’s significant that he was considered by experts to have been a “top-five” performer in the NL this season.
Through nine games, Kim is batting .288 with 15 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. His defense has been among the best in the league since last year. His 5.6 wins above replacement (WAR), as measured by Baseball-Reference.com, is tied for first in the NL with Acuña Jr. and second overall behind Shohei Ohtani (8.6). Ohtani received the first-place vote from all 48 experts in the AL mock poll.토토사이트
Kim, who tied Japanese “hitting genius” Ichiro Suzuki’s Asian record with 15 consecutive multi-hit games, fell short of extending his streak on Sept. 9 against the Seattle Mariners, going 1-for-4 with a walk in the leadoff spot. However, he did extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
Meanwhile, Ryu Hyun-jin (36-Toronto Blue Jays), who was hit in the right knee by a pitch against the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 8, received a negative X-ray and is expected to start against the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 14.