This is what I think is wonderful about Jung-Ho Kang: I have no idea what he’s going to do in 2015. None. With most players, I can make an educated guess based on minor league numbers and key rate stats and other indicators. With Kang, it’s almost impossible to know how any of those sorts of things apply. He could be anything from a starting shortstop with above average power for a middle infielder to below-average utility guy, and neither result would surprise me.
Kang has been an object of fascination for a certain element of the Pittsburgh media this spring, and I think there are a few reasons for that. First off, there’s not a whole lot that’s interesting about this Pirate team in the way that spring trainings or training camps usually are. Meaning this: there’s no drama. There’s a drummed-up fifth starter battle that Vance Worley won before camp began, there’s a drummed-up 25th man battle that Andrew Lambo won before camp began, and that’s it. The Pirates will probably fall somewhere between “pretty good” and “really good” in 2015, and there’s just no way to know which its going to be that until the real games start. Kang, though, is a bit of a cipher. He could represent a commitment by the Pirates to widening their talent search and deepening their bench (two things that we know the Pirates are generally interested in), or he could represent their unwillingness to pay Neil Walker long-term, or he could just be a total stab in the dark by the Pirates to find some talent for a reasonable price.
Most likely, he’s some combination of the three. The Pirates’ infield looks set, but in the last few years they’d had multiple starters at every position except for second base (Barmes to Mercer, Alvarez to Harrison, the First On-Going First Base Bondoogle). Having a right-handed bat with some pop and the ability to play a few positions was something they were sorely lacking last year, and rolling the dice on a player like Kang is certainly preferable to the Morel/Martinez/Nix route they took last year, even if the results don’t end up much better. If he flops, the price isn’t overwhelmingly huge. In the bigger picture, this year is certainly an audition for him because Neil Walker won’t be a Pirate in 2017. If Kang holds his own against big league pitching, he might be first in line for that job. If he doesn’t, well, the search will continue.
This year, though, I wouldn’t expect Kang to be more than a bit player unless he goes crazy at the plate and a spot opens up on the club. I suspect the Pirates will try to ease him into MLB with good matchups, try to utilize his right-handed bat off of the bench, and see where things go from there. Honestly, even though he’s just a bit player for now, I’m excited to see how this turns out.
<500 is an ongoing series previewing 2015 for each key Pirate in fewer than 500 words
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
