I was looking through some minor league scores and came across Na Kyung-min's name in today's short season A level Boise Hawks at Vancouver Canadians game box score. That's a good enough excuse to report on how the young outfielder has been doing since he signed for big bucks with the Cubs organization.
Na's been finding American ball very different from what he's used to in Korea.
He seems to understand that in the US, there are players competing from all over the world. He's finding it difficult but he's determined to persevere. Na's basically having a hard time but he has the goal of making the major leagues so he'll keep trying.
He is currently in Boise hitting .155 with no home runs and 3 RBI's from 58 at-bats. He was actually playing a league above with the regular A level Peoria Chiefs, but he got demoted sometime between June 19 and July 02 of this year. He was hitting an acceptable .258 but only managed 3 RBI's in 89 at-bats. A hitter is definitely not as valued when they can't hit with RISP.
This is the last game he played with Peoria:
Na is only 19 but he is struggling greatly and is probably not on a tangent to make it to the majors.
At Boise, Na has been given full time outfielders duties. But he is humming along pretty mediocre-ly with little signs of improvement.
Here are his recent stats:
Na's size is puny. His height is acceptable at 5'10'' but he absolutely must hit the weights hard. His feminine 170lb frame might make the Korean girls who love a sensitive man swoon but he will be ripped apart when or if he starts to move up towards the major leagues. Pitchers have no mercy down there and little boy frames like Na's is nothing but cannon fodder for them.
Na Kyung-min played for Duk Soo High School in Seoul and was considered the top player in his graduating class. He signed with the Chicago Cubs organization for $750,000 in 2010.
Links:
EDIT: Na's current stats are right here:
Wrong link was posted above.
1 comment:
Great story! Keep it up!
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