Anyone think the White Sox will have interest in this guy? He should be posted. Obviously he played in the Korean league. He is 27 years old. He hits RH. He's 6'0, 180 pounds. He plays SS/3B.

 

AVG- .360

OBP-.463

SLG-.756

38 HR

107 RBI

 

Here is a snippet from Keith Law who has Kang as his 15th rated Free Agent: Kang seems to have split scouts into two disparate camps: Those who see a power-hitting middle infielder, and those who see an unathletic corner guy whose power won't translate outside of Korea.

 

I'm closer to the former camp, as I see a swing that will generate legit plus power even once he leaves his hitter-friendly home park in the Yangcheon District of Seoul. Kang has a huge leg kick and gets his lead foot down late, which could create timing issues, but the swing is rotational, and I don't think the power surge he has had the past three years is strictly a function of the rising level of offense in the KBO. It's a power swing more than a hitting-for-average swing, which makes it somewhat more important that he stay in the middle infield.

 

He's not as fleet afoot as you would want a shortstop to be, but he has good enough hands and gets good reads off the bat, making up for some deficiencies with a 60 arm. While MLB teams are probably looking for more pure range in their shortstops now, I'd give Kang every chance to show he can handle the position, especially given the scarcity in the middle infield in this free-agent crop.

 

He'll be posted under the old highest-bidder system, rather than the capped system now in place for NPB free agents. I'd guess at a winning bid of $15-20 million.

 

Here is some youtube footage of Kang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYp6zt627oA

I'm sure the Sox will get some knoweledge from Man Soo Lee. I think he is managing in Korea these days.

Anyone think the White Sox will have interest in this guy? He should be posted. Obviously he played in the Korean league. He is 27 years old. He hits RH. He's 6'0, 180 pounds. He plays SS/3B.

 

AVG- .360

OBP-.463

SLG-.756

38 HR

107 RBI

 

Here is a snippet from Keith Law who has Kang as his 15th rated Free Agent: Kang seems to have split scouts into two disparate camps: Those who see a power-hitting middle infielder, and those who see an unathletic corner guy whose power won't translate outside of Korea.

 

I'm closer to the former camp, as I see a swing that will generate legit plus power even once he leaves his hitter-friendly home park in the Yangcheon District of Seoul. Kang has a huge leg kick and gets his lead foot down late, which could create timing issues, but the swing is rotational, and I don't think the power surge he has had the past three years is strictly a function of the rising level of offense in the KBO. It's a power swing more than a hitting-for-average swing, which makes it somewhat more important that he stay in the middle infield.

 

He's not as fleet afoot as you would want a shortstop to be, but he has good enough hands and gets good reads off the bat, making up for some deficiencies with a 60 arm. While MLB teams are probably looking for more pure range in their shortstops now, I'd give Kang every chance to show he can handle the position, especially given the scarcity in the middle infield in this free-agent crop.

 

He'll be posted under the old highest-bidder system, rather than the capped system now in place for NPB free agents. I'd guess at a winning bid of $15-20 million.

 

Here is some youtube footage of Kang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYp6zt627oA

 

180 pounds with 38 homers? This guy must have the wrists and forearms of Alfonso Soriano.

People say the Cuba Serie Nacional is the rough competitive equivalent of A ball, if I remember right. Where does the Korean league relate?

 

He certainly has some flair

 

He certainly has some flair

 

Wow. That's power you just can't teach.

People say the Cuba Serie Nacional is the rough competitive equivalent of A ball, if I remember right. Where does the Korean league relate?

I think the comparisons fall down in Cuba, because of the small league. The way I've seen it described, there are guys there that range in ability from a typical Rookie league all the way to AAA and MLB, so it's hard to peg it.

 

With Korea, just a quick browse of articles seems to put it at A or A+.

 

People say the Cuba Serie Nacional is the rough competitive equivalent of A ball, if I remember right. Where does the Korean league relate?

I think it would be tough to tell. Eric Thames, who played for Toronto and Seattle and is similar in age, put up close to the same power numbers this year in Korea. He did show some power during his MLB career. I wouldn't want to be the guy that gave him a ton of money, but it is possible he could be a steal if you got him on the cheap.

Might be worth mentioning too... the Sox did once spend relatively significant money on a Korean prospect - $300k on pitcher Po-Yu Lin. He was a huge disappointment.

 

Anyone think the White Sox will have interest in this guy? He should be posted. Obviously he played in the Korean league. He is 27 years old. He hits RH. He's 6'0, 180 pounds. He plays SS/3B.

 

AVG- .360

OBP-.463

SLG-.756

38 HR

107 RBI

 

Here is a snippet from Keith Law who has Kang as his 15th rated Free Agent: Kang seems to have split scouts into two disparate camps: Those who see a power-hitting middle infielder, and those who see an unathletic corner guy whose power won't translate outside of Korea.

 

I'm closer to the former camp, as I see a swing that will generate legit plus power even once he leaves his hitter-friendly home park in the Yangcheon District of Seoul. Kang has a huge leg kick and gets his lead foot down late, which could create timing issues, but the swing is rotational, and I don't think the power surge he has had the past three years is strictly a function of the rising level of offense in the KBO. It's a power swing more than a hitting-for-average swing, which makes it somewhat more important that he stay in the middle infield.

 

He's not as fleet afoot as you would want a shortstop to be, but he has good enough hands and gets good reads off the bat, making up for some deficiencies with a 60 arm. While MLB teams are probably looking for more pure range in their shortstops now, I'd give Kang every chance to show he can handle the position, especially given the scarcity in the middle infield in this free-agent crop.

 

He'll be posted under the old highest-bidder system, rather than the capped system now in place for NPB free agents. I'd guess at a winning bid of $15-20 million.

 

Here is some youtube footage of Kang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYp6zt627oA

I am intrigued. Even if he didn't play defensively at SS, could be a nice option at the hot corner. I also presume if he could play SS, you could also peg him at 3B. I will trust the Sox international scouting on this though but definitely a guy I would expect to look at. Could be a nice value play, all things depending.

I think it would be tough to tell. Eric Thames, who played for Toronto and Seattle and is similar in age, put up close to the same power numbers this year in Korea. He did show some power during his MLB career. I wouldn't want to be the guy that gave him a ton of money, but it is possible he could be a steal if you got him on the cheap.

Yep. How long did it take Choo to adjust / how did his statistics overseas correlate?

My god that little guy has power. His swing kind of reminds me of Dustin Pedroia, sans the enormous leg kick. He has that high swing finish and seems to sell out for power with that hip torque.

 

I could definitely see the leg kick giving him timing issues though.

Who is this guy? Is he available? I want him on the Sox NOW. What power!! He'll be a fan favorite with the glove and the bat.

Is he a legit signee? Does Hahn know of him?

Who is this guy? Is he available? I want him on the Sox NOW. What power!! He'll be a fan favorite with the glove and the bat.

Is he a legit signee? Does Hahn know of him?

 

Who is this guy? Is he available? I want him on the Sox NOW. What power!! He'll be a fan favorite with the glove and the bat.

Is he a legit signee? Does Hahn know of him?

 

Nope, Soxtalk scooped him first.

Ha, that does remind me of the soxfest before 2005 when KW was getting grilled to sign Iguchi.

Nope, Soxtalk scooped him first.

That's cause we're building a team to compete with the White Sox. Hopefully Rick doesn't find out.

That's cause we're building a team to compete with the White Sox. Hopefully Rick doesn't find out.

 

"Do you think you can compete with the Tigers this year?

"The question should be, 'do I think the Tigers can compete with us!'"

"Do you think you can compete with the Tigers this year?

"The question should be, 'do I think the Tigers can compete with us!'"

 

The Sox are in a slump where they can't compete with anybody in the division in head to head games. Did finish ahead of Minnie though. And with Gardenhire gone, that team should be buried for a while.

Might be worth mentioning too... the Sox did once spend relatively significant money on a Korean prospect - $300k on pitcher Po-Yu Lin. He was a huge disappointment.

 

 

Dude, clearly it says Lin's from Taiwan

Who is this guy? Is he available? I want him on the Sox NOW. What power!! He'll be a fan favorite with the glove and the bat.

Is he a legit signee? Does Hahn know of him?

rich hahn here, never heard of this chinese guy. ill take a look thx.

 

rich hahn here, never heard of this chinese guy. ill take a look thx.

I laughed.

Dude, clearly it says Lin's from Taiwan

Son of a....

 

Well that's embarrassing, since I wrote the frigging AAP thread in the first place. Not sure why I thought he was Korean. My bad.

 

Carry on.

 

Son of a....

 

Well that's embarrassing, since I wrote the frigging AAP thread in the first place. Not sure why I thought he was Korean. My bad.

 

Carry on.

 

Lol yep, I just fact checked you from a post you've written yourself

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major...rom_South_Korea

 

FWIW, there were only 2 position players from South Korea in MLB history, Hee Seop Choi and Shin-Soo Choo. So I'd say we still have a 50% success rate here.

Lol yep, I just fact checked you from a post you've written yourself

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major...rom_South_Korea

 

FWIW, there were only 2 position players from South Korea in MLB history, Hee Seop Choi and Shin-Soo Choo. So I'd say we still have a 50% success rate here.

I am old and forget things. What were we discussing again?