KBO Rates & Ranks Report #6 - Week Ending 6/30/25
Document : KBO Rates & Ranks Report #6
Level : Professional - International
Source : https://www.fangraphs.com/
Offensive Date Data pulled : Monday, June 30, 2025 2:02 PM ET
Pitchers Date Data pulled: Monday, June 30, 2025 2:02 PM ET
Overview : From an offensive perspective, I rated & ranked 153 KBO players using stats for the follow dates 2025 Season Start - 6/30/2025 with a 60 PA minimum. Players were assessed using a neutralized Run Value system to measure their overall offensive production, broken down into two core components:
“The Run Tool”— Captures the value generated from non-hit plate appearances (walks, stolen bases, etc.)
“The Hit Tool”— Measures a player’s offensive impact via hitting.
“Overall” — A sum of the Run Tool and the Hit Tool, representing overall offensive contribution.
Each player is rated & ranked in these three categories: Run Tool, Hit Tool , and Overall
Full spreadsheet with Rates & Ranks
When I look at players I look at them in terms of production amongst their league and MLB standards. Here is where most player fall in terms of Run Value / PA or Overall Rate using a KBO scale
I like to compare these players to a MLB standard scale for production to see if they could make the transition. If I were looking to acquire a player from another league with lower competition, then I need this player to be producing at an above average production or better.
I used the MLB Overall Rate scale to color code the spreadsheet to easily identify players measure up against MLB Standards when viewing by Age. To view the spreadsheet by Age click the little calculator looking thing, then select ‘Group by Age’.
With that in mind, let’s use that structure to breakdown our report to help identify top talent in the KBO by Age for Great & Elite Production using an MLB Scale…
Age 21
Hyun Min Ahn 안현민 Wiz (KBO) - Elite Production - OF | 6'0" / 198 | Right / Right … 2nd year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.203, #1 overall. An Overall Rate of 0.203 is 54.05% better than the average KBO player 0.132. A majority of his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #2. He has an XBH rate of 12.90% and a HR rate of 6.99% in 220 PA. Striking out 15.45% of the time and above average 14.09% BB rate. His 0.333 BA is supported by a .353 BABIP. 4 SB at 100% success rate and 1 error in CF, 2 error in RF. Two errors occurred in the last 2 weeks.
He meets all the numbers to be an A Grade offensive player in CF/LF/RF in that order. Without seeing him play ruling out CF, his bat plays best in LF then RF.
Do Yeong Kim 김도영 Tigers (KBO) Elite Production … 3B | 6'0" / 187 | Right / Right …4th year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.189, ranking #3 overall. An Overall Rate of 0.189 is 43.21% better than the average KBO player 0.132. A majority of his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #1. He has an XBH rate of 16.00% and a HR rate of 7.00% in 111 PA. Only striking out 16.22% of the time and fairly patient with a 9.01% BB rate. His .330 BA is supported by a .338 BABIP….Defensively 3 errors so far this year at 3B .940 F%… currently dealing with a hamstring injury. Here’s more information on the injury from Jihan Kim https://www.mk.co.kr/en/sports/11328925
Hyun Bin Moon 문현빈 Eagles (KBO) - Great Production
Dong Hee Yoon 윤동희Giants (KBO) - Above Average Production
Age 22
Ju Heon Lee 이주헌 Twins (KBO) - Great Production
Age 24
Dong Hyeok Kim 김동혁Giants (KBO) - Elite Production … OF | 6'0" / 185 | R/R … 3rd year KBO player is positing elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.179, ranking #5. An Overall Rate of 0.179 is 35.48% better than the average KBO player .132. A run heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #75 and his Run Tool ranked #2. He has an XBH rate of 8.77% and a HR rate of 0.00% in 77 PA. Striking out 20.78% of the time and elite 19.48% BB rate. His 0.263 BA is supported by a .366 BABIP. 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts.
Bo-gyeong Moon 문보경 Twins (KBO) - Elite Production … 1B/3B | 6'0" / 196 | L/R … 5th year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.173, ranking #12. An Overall Rate of 0.173 is 31.19% better than the average KBO player .132. A balanced approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #14 and his Run Tool ranked #20. He has an XBH rate of 9.35% and a HR rate of 5.04% in 338 PA. Only striking out 15.68% of the time and great 15.98% BB rate. His 0.291 BA is supported by a .310 BABIP which is a bit lower than his career average… Shaky Fielding at 3B, committing 2 errors since my last KBO blog at 3B, (10) on the season. A move to 1B is probably best, his profile fits 1B.
Age 25
Jeong-won Choi 최정원Dinos (KBO) - Elite Production… 5'9" / 154lbs | R/L | UTL… 5th year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.178, ranking #6. An Overall Rate of 0.178 is 35.21% better than the average KBO player .132. A run heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #139 and his Run Tool ranked #1. He has an XBH rate of 4.26% and a HR rate of 0.00% in 64 PA. Only striking out 14.06% of the time and an slightly above average BB rate 10.94%. 14 stolen bases and caught stealing 2 times. His 0.234 BA is supported by a .289 BABIP which is .050-.80 points lower than his career average. 1 errors on the season.
Age 26
Seong-yoon Kim 김성윤 Lions (KBO) - Elite Production… 5'4" / 136 |L/L | OF … 8th year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.177, ranking #8. An Overall Rate of 0.177 is 33.97% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #9 and his Run Tool ranked #26. He has an XBH rate of 10.48% and a HR rate of 0.95% in 249 PA. Only striking out 12.45% of the time and an above average BB rate 12.45%. His 0.352 BA is supported by a .404 BABIP which is .040-.090 points higher than his career average. 0 errors on the season. 13 stolen bases at a 81% success rate.
Age 28
Lewin Díaz 디아즈 Lions (KBO)- Elite Production … 1B | 6'2" / 232 | L/L … 2nd year in the KBO, is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.175, ranking #11. An Overall Rate of 0.175 is 32.28% better than the average KBO player .132. A Hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #4 and his Run Tool ranked #107. He has an XBH rate of 13.27% and a HR rate of 8.74% in 340 PA. He is striking out 18.53% of the time and OK BB rate 8.53%. Three errors this season at 1B
Sung-moon Song 송성문Heroes (KBO) - Great Production
Age 30
Victor Reyes 레이예스 Giants (KBO) - Great Production
Jeong-hun Lee 이정훈Wiz (KBO) - Great Production
Age 31
Austin Dean 오스틴 Twins (KBO) Elite Production… 1B | 6'0" / 215 | R/R… 3rd year in the KBO, is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.179, ranking #4. An Overall Rate of 0.179 is 35.70% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #4 and his Run Tool ranked #25. He has an XBH rate of 11.88% and a HR rate of 7.28% in 310 PA. He is only striking out 14.19% of the time and great BB rate 16.13%. 3 errors on the season for Dean at 1B
Age 32
Kang-nam Yoo 유강남 Giants (KBO) - Great Production
Min-woo Park 박민우Dinos (KBO) - Great Production
Ja-wook Koo 구자욱Lions (KBO) - Great Production
Age 33
Patrick Wisdom 위즈덤 Tigers (KBO)Elite Production .. 1B | R/R | 6'2" / 220
The 1st year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.176, ranking #9. An Overall Rate of 0.176 is 33.25% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #10 and his Run Tool ranked #28. He has an XBH rate of 13.08% and a HR rate of 7.01% in 254 PA…He is striking out at a above average rate 27.17% and good BB rate 14.57%… 0.257 BA with a .274 BABIP.
Age 34
Matt Davidson 데이비슨 Dinos (KBO) - Elite Production … 3B/DH | R/R | 6'3" / 230 … The 2nd year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.177, ranking #7. An Overall Rate of 0.177 is 34.18% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #3 and his Run Tool ranked #115. He has an XBH rate of 12.18% and a HR rate of 7.61% in 222 PA…He is striking out 26.13% of the time and below average BB rate 6.31%…0.325 BA
Hui-dong Kwon 권희동Dinos (KBO) - Great Production
Age 35
Dong-won Park 박동원 Twins (KBO) Twins (KBO) - Elite Production… C | R/R | 5'10" / 202… The 15th year KBO player is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.175, ranking #10 An Overall Rate of 0.175 is 32.96% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #8 and his Run Tool ranked #37. He has an XBH rate of 11.26% and a HR rate of 6.49% in 275 PA…He is striking out 21.82% of the time and good BB rate 13.82%. 0.286 BA.
Need to get my hands on that tuna jersey this year
Jae-hoon Choi 최재훈Eagles (KBO) - Great Production
Age 37
Hyun Soo Kim 김현수Twins (KBO) - Great Production
Age 38
Euiji Yang 양의지 Bears (KBO) - Great Production
Jeong Choi 최정Landers (KBO) - Great Production
Age 41
Hyoung-woo Choi 최형우 Tigers (KBO)- Elite Production … L/R | 5'10" / 189 … the 20 year KBO vet is posting elite production with an Overall Rate of 0.195, ranking #2. An Overall Rate of 0.195 is 48.09% better than the average KBO player .132. A hit heavy approach, his rate is coming from his Hit Tool ranked #5 and his Run Tool ranked #19. He has an XBH rate of 13.70% and a HR rate of 5.19% in 321 PA…He is striking out 16.51% of the time and great BB rate 16.20%.
Pitching : There is limited data on pitchers in KBO, so I had to use implied probabilities numbers for some XBH values to understand run value, which is why I use the *. From the pitching perspective, I rated & ranked 126 KBO pitchers for 2025 Season Start - 6/30/2025 with a minimum requirement of 20 IP. The pitchers are rated the same way in terms of run value but instead of Plate appearance or At Bat, I use Batter Faced.
Jung-hyun Baek 백정현Lions (KBO)
Kyumin Woo 우규민Wiz (KBO)
Jun Yong Choi 최준용Giants (KBO)
Yeong Tak Sung 성영탁Tigers (KBO)
Cody Ponce 폰세Eagles (KBO)
Adam Oller 올러Tigers (KBO)
Byeong Hyeon Jo 조병현Landers (KBO)
Dong-hyun Son 손동현Wiz (KBO)
Alec Gamboa 감보아Giants (KBO)
Hyeon Su Jeong 정현수Giants (KBO)
SO % Leaders
Cody Ponce 폰세 Eagles (KBO) 31 | 36.41%
Drew Anderson 앤더슨Landers (KBO) 31 | 35.96%
Jun Yong Choi 최준용Giants (KBO) 23 | 32.18%
Riley Thompson 라일리Dinos (KBO) 28 | 31.46%
Taek Yeon Kim 김택연Bears (KBO) 20 | 29.94%
Byeong Hyeon Jo 조병현Landers (KBO) 23 | 29.93%
Woo Joo Jeong 정우주Eagles (KBO) 18 | 29.63%
Seo Hyeon Kim 김서현Eagles (KBO) 21 | 28.76%
Ho Sung Lee 이호성Lions (KBO) 20 | 28.48%
Tae-hoon Kim 김태훈Lions (KBO) 33 | 28.10%
That’s all for this week, come back in 2 weeks for more KBO blogs. I do a bi-weekly professional baseball report and alternate between MiLB & International Leagues.
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If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading, I want to start including some of my favorite things I’m reading. Last time I did this KBO blog I was reading Coaching with Purpose by Keith Madison. I finished that, and it is a great book for coaches of all levels. A lot of wisdom shared about being on the front lines as a coach. Here were some takeaways :
Words are like seeds. Be careful what you say. You might have to eat what you plant one day.
(S.E.A.) set the Standard, clarify Expectations, hold Accountability.
Decide when you will decide.
I picked up Built to Win by John Schuerholz. It’s an awesome book so far, and gives you a look inside the mind of a GM. For as great as he was as GM, I am appreciating the bits of self deprecating humor he sneaks in. There’s one section of the book that dives into trades, and his son reminded him ‘the one positive thing about trading away David Cone is that you won’t have to think too hard about the worst trade you ever made.’
-Chris Boz
Failure to plan is planning to fail. Remain resolved in your pursuits.
Other Blogs
MLB :
Phillies – Predicted how the Phillies might manage veteran workloads—such as placing Bryce Harper on the IL—and highlighted Otto Kemp as a likely call-up. You can read it here. Published May 28, 2025
Orioles – Published one day before they parted ways with Brandon Hyde: In it, I called for accountability and posed the question: "Is a shakeup at the helm necessary? Without a course correction soon, 2025 risks slipping away before it ever takes shape." Published May 16, 2025
“Searching for the Oriole Way” - I examine the Orioles’ current trajectory through both a numbers-based lens and an instinctual baseball perspective. Published Jun 26, 2025
MiLB :
MiLB Rates & Ranks Report #5 Bi-Weekly is a tracking/monitoring report I publish bi-weekly. I rate and rank production for MiLB. Publish on Jun 24, 2025
Scouting Report MiLB High-A affiliate - Ironbirds (Orioles) German / Freeberger / Méndez – Scouting report from a game I attended, focus on pitching evaluations. Published on May 10, 2025
Free Agent Valuation Tool :
One of my goals last offseason was to blend my experience in baseball, analytics, risk, and finance. I put that too the test by creating my own Valuation Tool. My first test of the tool was Harrison Bader. My valuation tool estimated between $6.3–8.5 million…The final deal was $6.25 mil + $2 mil in possible incentives, which was right in line with my valuation tool of $6.3–8.5 million.
The second test of my valuation tool was Kiké Hernández… My estimate using my valuation tool: $5.4–$7.6 million. Officially announced the terms: $6.5 million for 2025 — right in the middle of my estimate.
Free Agent Evaluation Examples:
Christian Walker Published on Dec 6, 2024 ‘To me, the Astros make a perfect home for Walker. The Astros are a very data driven organization and would see the value of a guy like Christian Walker. The Astros have an aging roster, so the age probably scares the Astros away from offering him a 3 year deal, but I 100% think they would be in on a 2 year deal. Maybe they do a 2 year deal with a 3rd year team option with a buyout. But they have a 1B spot open… my recommendation 3 years / $47.6-56Mil’ … Signed with Astros on Dec 23, 2024 for 3 years / $60 million
Ha-Seong Kim Published on Dec 17, 2024 ‘Guardians / Rays: Small-market teams love positional versatility…Ha-Seong Kim brings health concerns (check the rehab), but his game is built to produce and a lot of the underlying numbers are trending is a good direction. I feel he’s finally adjusting and making consistent strides in the right direction to learning when to be more aggressive at the plate. I see him as a guy that’s just scratching the surface in terms of what he’s capable of. He’s versatile, disciplined, and sneaky valuable on offense — even if he isn’t a slugger right now. For teams focused on speed, defense, and OBP, Kim’s a fit…1-5year/(11.5M-14.8M AAV).’…Signed with Rays on Feb 3, 2025 for 2 years/ 14.5 AAV
Tyler O’Neill – Published on Nov 17, 2024 ‘I could see him with the Orioles, I know the Orioles Super Computer wants him. The Orioles use vsL/vsR splits like it’s a religion, and if there is a player that can hit a ball out of any park it’s O’Neill (48%) of his home runs were no doubters. I’m sure Baltimore would love to have him as a DH vs lefties. I almost wrote this blog from the perspective of the Orioles Super Computer… Recommendation : the deal is 50% ($7.8 mil) guaranteed, which is what you are expecting him to play, then an additional ($1.56 Mil) for each additional 10% GP. $7.8 Guaranteed, $7.8 in games played Incentives or 2 years/$18.72 Mil.’…Signed with Orioles on Dec 7, 2024 for 3 years/$49.5Mil. He’s played in less than 30% of Orioles games so far.
Max Kepler Published on Dec 20, 2024 ‘Considering Kepler’s declining durability, speed, and offensive production, you must expect he will only play around 70% of the games. Based on these factors, my contract recommendation would have been $1 million. Maybe he can play himself into another contract.’… Signed with the Phillies on Dec 20, 2024 for $10Mil