Kim Ha-seong, Starting at No. 9 and Shortstop in His First Postseason Game! Atlanta Bets on Him Again Despite a Worst-Ever Season with a .116 Batting Average

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Ha-seong (31, Atlanta Braves) will start at shortstop in the opening game of the postseason.

Atlanta will face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) National League (NL) Wild Card Series (best-of-three) on the 30th (Korean time) at 3:00 a.m. at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

It is a matchup between Atlanta, which won the NL East Division title to secure the No. 3 seed, and Philadelphia, the No. 6 seed that barely clinched a postseason berth in the final game of the regular season. Atlanta held a 9-4 advantage against Philadelphia this year, but Philadelphia won all three previous postseason matchups. In particular, in 2022 and 2023, division champion Atlanta was eliminated by wild card entry Philadelphia in consecutive years.

Kim Ha-seong’s name was also included in Atlanta’s starting lineup. On this day, Atlanta arranged its batting order as follows: Drake Baldwin (catcher), Ronald Acuna Jr. (right fielder), Matt Olson (first baseman), Mauricio Dubon (left fielder), Michael Harris II (center fielder), Adolis Garcia (second baseman), Austin Riley (third baseman), Mike Yastrzemski (designated hitter), and Kim Ha-seong (shortstop). The starting pitcher is left-hander Chris Sale.

In response, Philadelphia will counter with Trea Turner (shortstop), Kyle Schwarber (designated hitter), Bryce Harper (right fielder), Alec Bohm (first baseman), Deric Hill (center fielder), Bryson Stott (second baseman), Edmundo Sosa (third baseman), and J.T. Realmuto (catcher). The starter is left-hander Jesus Luzardo (29).

The starting pitching matchup is intense from the outset. Sale recorded a 14-9 record with a 2.16 ERA, 200 strikeouts in 162⅔ innings, and a 0.98 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) in 27 games this season. He was also strong against Philadelphia, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.08 ERA in four games.

Luzardo also had an outstanding season, going 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA, 221 strikeouts in 178⅔ innings, and a 1.08 WHIP in 29 games. However, due to inflammation in his left shoulder, he has not started since the game against Atlanta on the 7th. His only live appearance since then was as a relief pitcher in the game against Tampa Bay on the 28th, where he threw four pitches over one inning. Philadelphia is expected to utilize Luzardo more like an "opener" rather than a traditional starter tasked with long innings in this game.

This is an opportunity for Kim Ha-seong to turn around a difficult season. Kim Ha-seong suffered from injuries and poor performance last year with the Tampa Bay Rays before heading to Atlanta via a waiver claim in September.

He subsequently rebounded, posting a .253 batting average (22 hits in 87 at-bats), three home runs, 12 RBIs, and a .684 OPS in 24 games. After the season, he declined his $16 million player option (approximately 21.7 billion won) and returned to the free agent market, where Atlanta invested $20 million (approximately 27.1 billion won) for one year to retain him.

However, his start was rocky. Before the season, he slipped on an icy road in Korea, tearing a tendon in his right middle finger and requiring surgery. After missing spring training and the opening of the season, he returned in May, but his hitting form did not easily recover. He also faced the misfortune of being placed back on the injured list due to inflammation in his right middle finger.

Ultimately, his regular season record was limited to a .116 batting average (15 hits in 129 at-bats), zero home runs, nine RBIs, and two stolen bases in 51 games. His on-base percentage was .219, slugging percentage .140, and OPS .359. It was a report card that did not match his one-year, $20 million contract.

Nevertheless, Atlanta included Kim Ha-seong in the wild card roster, and when Philadelphia deployed left-hander Luzardo, they moved Dubon to left field and assigned Kim Ha-seong to shortstop.

Kim Ha-seong’s record against left-handed pitchers this year was a sluggish .068 (5 hits in 62 at-bats), but he has been strong throughout his career, posting a .286 batting average (16 hits in 56 at-bats) in 24 games last year and a .302 batting average (51 hits in 169 at-bats) in 83 games in 2023. As such, there is anticipation that he may deliver a turnaround performance.

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*This content was translated by AI.