Bae Ji-hwan leads the league in batting average

Bae Ji-hwan (25), who plays for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, leads the league in batting average and slugging percentage.

Bae started in center field and went 4-for-6 with a leadoff home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored in the Triple-A Indians’ 16-10 win over the Toledo MudHens (Detroit Tigers) at Victory Field in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, on April 19th.

In his first at-bat of the game, he took a 93.6 mph (150.6 km/h) four-seam fastball right down the middle of the plate from Toledo right-hander Ty Maddon for a solo shot to center field. It was his fourth home run of the season, measuring 107 mph (172.2 km/h), 441 feet (134.4 meters) and 25 degrees of launch.

Bae, who drew a full-count walk with Maddon in the second inning, followed with a two-run single to right in the fourth, then drove a three-pitch slider from left-hander Andrew Vazquez to left field. 스포츠토토 In the eighth inning, he took a 51.7-mile-per-hour (83.2-kilometer-per-hour) fastball from pitcher Riley Unroh and smashed a two-run double to center field.

Through 25 games of the Triple-A season,

Bae is batting .478 with four home runs, 14 RBIs, 22 runs scored, 19 walks, 32 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, a .559 slugging percentage and a 1.037 OPS in 93 at-bats. First in the International League (IL) in batting average, first in slugging percentage, and sixth in OPS.

With stats like that, he should be getting a major league call-up, but Pittsburgh hasn’t called him yet. The Pirates are 21-26 (.447 winning percentage) and in third place in the NL Central, but their weaknesses are their offense, which ranks 26th in team batting average (.225) and 28th in OPS (.651). They are also 23rd in stolen bases (22).

Bae’s main positions, second base and center field, are also very weak. This year, second baseman Jared Triolo is batting 2-for-4 (30-for-147) with two home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .550 OPS in 42 games, while center fielder Michael A. Taylor is batting 2-for-6 (24-for-111) with one home run and a .544 OPS in 38 games.

With such a weak outfield, Pittsburgh continues to look away from Bae Ji-hwan. The Pirates called up Nick Gonzalez and Alica Williams on Nov. 11 and 12, leaving Bae in the lineup. Williams (20 games, .232 with two homers and an OPS of .580) and Gonzalez (nine games, .233 with two homers and six RBIs and an OPS of .717), who have been serving as backup infielders, have not been competitive.

It’s time for a change for Pittsburgh, which is 4-7 in its last 11 games.

While the Pirates have been revitalizing on the mound with the recent call-up of Paul Skins, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, they need someone to spark the offense. The club’s conservative organization has slowed down the call-ups, but with his current performance, it’s hard to imagine Bae being overlooked any longer.

Bae, a right-handed hitter from Gyeongbuk High School, signed with Pittsburgh in March 2018 for a $1.25 million signing bonus. Bae, who became the 26th Korean-American major leaguer in history in September 2022, made the Opening Day roster last year and batted .296 (77-for-334) with two home runs, 32 RBIs, 54 runs scored, 30 walks, 92 strikeouts, 24 stolen bases, a .311 slugging percentage and a .607 OPS in 111 games. He was a utility player, splitting time between three infield positions: second base (56 starts in 64 games, 465⅓ innings), center field (33 starts in 62 games, 336⅔ innings), and shortstop (3 starts, 24 innings).

This year, he was hoping to make the jump to the full-time roster but was hampered by injuries. He was on pace to go 7-for-11 (2.7 RBI, 3 HR, 1 RBI) with four walks, four strikeouts, 온라인 슬롯 a 5 percent walk rate, and two stolen bases in seven exhibition games before suffering a left hip flexor strain in his final appearance on March 6 against the Toronto Blue Jays. After starting the season on the disabled list, Bae rehabbed the injury and returned to action at Single-A on March 8, and has been playing at Triple-A for over a month.