Welcome back to the 2015 Last Word on Fantasy Baseball Guide. Over the next several months we will be releasing player profiles, projections, position rankings, and a number of other articles that will help you dominate your fantasy league this season. Whether you play rotisserie or head-to-head; whether you have a standard draft, a snake or an auction league, and whether its keeper league or a one-year deal; we have all the fantasy information you need.
For the rest of our fantasy baseball profiles and articles, please check out our Fantasy Baseball Guide Page.
FANTASY PROFILE: JUNG-HO KANG, SS, PITTSBURGH PIRATES
LWOS Ranking 22
One of the big mysteries heading into the 2015 season, Jung-Ho Kang is an intriguing fantasy option. Kang came over to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Nexon Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) on a 4-year deal worth approximately 20 million after the posting fee. In Korea, Kang was a beast averaging .320/.420/.596 between 2012-2014 with 87 homers in 367 games. He even managed to chip in 39 SB in that same time frame. Of course I also have to mention that many baseball analysts have compared the KBO to MLB’s AA or AAA farm teams, as a way to compare talent levels. You can take that statement with a grain of salt like I have, as we really don’t know anything until Kang steps on the field.
There are a couple things I would like to point out. First off, he plays SS at a time when the talent pool for SS is pretty shallow. Secondly, I read a very interesting article from Dan Farnsworth over at Fangraphs. In the article, Farnsworth breaks down Kang’s swing methodically and makes a very interesting comparison to a current MLB player. Kang is such a mystery that he has been projected as an All-Star starter all the way down to bench/platoon player. It is a gamble drafting Kang, but it’s a gamble that may end up paying off.
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**All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference
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