During recent weeks, some scouters from several Major League Baseball (MLB) ball clubs were reported to have entered South Korea and Korean pro-baseball games to search for the next Chan Ho Park or Shin Soo Choo. Two player have caught the attention of several MLB ball clubs; short stop Jeong-ho Kang (Seoul Nexen Heroes) and starting pitcher Kwang-hyun Kim (Incheon SK Wyverns).
One MLB scout who refused to identify which ball club he was represented expressed great interest in the short stop Jeong-ho Kang. 26-year-old Kang is currently believed to be the league's most offensive and defensive field player. At this point in the 2014 KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) season, Kang has hit 35 homeruns and 98 RBIs (Runs batted In). He has already become the short stop with the most homeruns in a season in Korean baseball history and is now expected to be the first Korean short stop to hit 40 homers.
Kang caught the eye of big league scouts not only for his batting capabilities but his ability to play good defense with a glove as short stop. Even in the Major Leagues there were not many short stops that could also hit high batting average or hit a many homeruns besides Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez and several others.
Many sports experts pointed towards other prestigious Asian field players who joined MLB ball clubs and expressed great concern for Kang's potential MLB career. For instance, Japan's Hideki Matsui hit over 50 homeruns in his last season with the NPB (Nippon Pro Baseball) but only managed to hit 16 in his rookie season with the Yankees. Other field players like Hiroyuki Nakajima from the Saibu Lions was unable to adjust to playing defense in an MLB ball park, because the ball would run across the field much faster than in Japan.
MLB scouts however expressed that Kang, a Korean is physically bigger and more fit compared to Japanese field players. In other words he would be able to adjust more quickly to the hitting power of the opponents' batters. In addition, they stated that because Kang plays short stop, even if he hits half the homeruns he bats in Korea, that is still exceptional batting power, even in the MLB.
Several Korean sports experts have reported that the MLB scouts who visited Korea to see Kang and other potential big-leaguers, are all from very prestigious teams. One identified himself as a scout from the St. Louis Cardinals. By the end of the 2014 season, Jeong-Ho Kang will be able to go join leagues abroad with permission from his team, the Seoul Nexen Heroes. It is believed that the Heroes are very optimistic about seeing their short stop start a new career at the home of baseball.
Meanwhile, MLB scouts have also visited Incheon to observe another player, the Wyverns' starting pitcher, Kwanghyun Kim.
