MLB.com names Lee team's best rookie

Lee Dae-ho of the Seattle Mariners hits a three-run home run against the San Diego Padres in the eighth inning at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, May 30. / AFP-Yonhap

Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches to a Pittsburgh Pirates batter during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium in St Louis, Missouri, July 7. / AFP-Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) season has reached its halfway point and Korean major leaguers have been well received in their debut season.

The official site MLB.com named the Seattle Mariners’ first baseman Lee Dae-ho, 34, as the team’s best rookie, praised the St. Louis Cardinals’ reliever Oh Seung-hwan, 33, as “a dominant setup man,” and called the Baltimore Orioles’ outfielder Kim Hyun-soo, 28, as “an on-base weapon.”

In a team-by-team midterm report from MLB.com, Wednesday, Lee, who’s in his first MLB season after a solid career in both the Korean and Japanese leagues, was described as the team’s top rookie in the first half in that he may challenge for the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year title for his batting performance.

“Lee not only established himself as Seattle’s biggest surprise, the 34-year-old slugger from Korea thrust himself into the conversation for top rookies in the AL by hitting the break with a .288/.330/.514 line with 12 homers and 37 RBIs,” the report said.

The report also praised his clutch hitting and defensive value as a first baseman: “The big man has proven to be capable in the clutch as well, winning several games with timely hits, and he has played well enough at first base to take over regular playing time there in the past month as Adam Lind moved into more of a DH (designated hitter) role.”

The Mariners wrapped up their first half with 45 wins and 44 losses, being in third-place in the AL West. They will take on the second-place Houston Astros (48-41) in the AL West starting Friday (local time).

Kim, another Korean rookie hitter playing for the Orioles, is also well received.

The Orioles currently top the AL East with 51 wins and 36 losses and the report said their season so far has been made possible by their “bullpen performances that caused headaches for many opponents.”

As for Kim, the report said “he’s proven to be an on-base weapon.” Kim, who’s in his first MLB season, had to spend most of April on the bench as he played poorly in spring training. Though he didn’t get regular playing opportunities until late May, he gradually succeeded to show improved performance and finished the first half of the season with a batting average of .329, 50 hits, 11 RBIs and three home runs.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ reliever Oh Seung-hwan, who finished the first half of the season with two wins, two saves and an ERA of 1.59 while throwing 45.1 innings, was described as one of the reasons for his team being in second place in the National League (NL) Central division trailing the Chicago Cubs.

“Oh emerged as a dominant setup man and a capable closer in his rookie season,” the report said.

The Korean right-hander began playing for the Cardinals this season after 11 successful seasons in Korea and Japan.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins’ Korean infielder Park Byung-ho was mentioned in the “What Went Wrong” category. “Designated hitter Park Byung-ho had a hot start to the season, but he fell into a slump and was optioned to Triple-A on July 1,” the report said.

The 30-year-old slugger began his first MLB season with six home runs in April but he soon hit a slump as he struggled with hitting fastballs.

Mostly playing as a designated hitter, Park hit 12 home runs with a .191 batting average before being demoted to the minor leagues early this month.