Kim Hye-seong (26) of the Los Angeles Dodgers has been selected as an underrated player to watch in the All-Star Game.
Major League Baseball's official media outlet, MLB.com, noted on the 14th (Korea time), "Every season, as the All-Star break approaches, there are players whose participation in the All-Star Game seems assured. Everyone knows that Aaron Judge (Yankees) and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers) will participate in the All-Star Game. However, when the All-Star voting starts, I want to pay attention to different candidates," and introduced 12 players who are showing All-Star-level performances in 2025. One of them is Kim Hye-seong.
Kim Hye-seong, who has a career batting average of .304 over 953 KBO League games (3,433 at-bats, 1,043 hits), with 37 home runs, 386 RBIs, 591 runs scored, and 211 stolen bases, signed a maximum contract of $22 million (approximately 30.1 billion won) with the Dodgers through posting after last season, successfully making his way into Major League Baseball.
After signing with the Dodgers, Kim Hye-seong adjusted his batting form to hit stronger balls, and because of this, he had a poor performance in the exhibition games with a batting average of .267 over 15 games (29 at-bats, 6 hits), 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 6 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases, resulting in exclusion from the Tokyo Series roster and starting the American season in Triple-A minor league.
In Triple-A, Kim Hye-seong recorded a batting average of .252 over 28 games (115 at-bats, 29 hits), with 5 home runs, 19 RBIs, 22 runs scored, and 13 stolen bases, before seizing an opportunity for a call-up to Major League Baseball due to Tommy Edman's injury. Since then, his performance has begun, recording a batting average of .391 over 29 games (64 at-bats, 25 hits), with 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, 13 runs scored, and 6 stolen bases, and consistently receiving opportunities in Major League Baseball.
MLB.com stated, "It took some time for Kim Hye-seong to get on the Major League roster. However, he was finally called up in early May and has been performing fantastically. Having played as a star player in Korea, Kim Hye-seong has recorded a batting average of .391, 2 home runs, 6 stolen bases, and an OPS of .997 in his first 29 games with the Dodgers. While Ketel Marte (Arizona) is leading the National League second baseman All-Star voting, I urge you to vote for Kim Hye-seong. He is playing like an All-Star."
Other players included in this list alongside Kim Hye-seong are Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta), O'Neil Cruz (Pittsburgh), Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Matt Olson (Atlanta), Matt Chapman (San Francisco), Mike Trout (Angels), Jackson Holliday (Baltimore), Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay), Corey Seager (Texas), Alejandro Kirk (Toronto), and Denzel Clarke (Athletics).
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