The San Diego Padres’ Ha-Sung Kim continues to hit hot. He’s been batting leadoff and has the second-best OPS in the majors over the past week.
He’s been batting leadoff most of the time since the All-Star break. He started at first base against the Texas Rangers on April 29, going 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, two runs scored, and a stolen base.
The leadoff hitter drove in three runs and added a stolen base to reach the 20-stolen base plateau for the season. drove in a run in San Diego’s 7-1 win 메이저놀이터.
Led off the first inning with an infield single, stole second and scored on Soto’s RBI single. In the sixth, with runners on second and third, he drew a walk to load the bases. Fernando Tatis Jr. followed with a single to right and scored on Manny Machado’s RBI double.
Kim has been hitting like crazy lately, playing six games a week. It’s the best offense in the majors.
In those six games, he went 9-for-19 (4-for-7) with three home runs, two doubles, four RBIs, and seven runs scored. He drew eight walks and didn’t strike out a single time. He has a nearly 5% walk rate, a .629 slugging percentage, a .947 on-base percentage, and a 1.576 OPS. His one-week OPS is second in the majors.
The most recent one-week OPS leader over Kim is a familiar face: Ras Nuba (St. Louis), who played for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March.
In six games, Nutba went 9-for-19 (.473) with four home runs, six doubles, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and seven walks. He is the hottest hitter of the past week with a .615 OPS, 1.105 slugging percentage, and 1.72 OPS. Third in OPS is Pete Alonso (New York Mets) with four home runs, one triple, and two doubles in six games.
Kim’s bat has been a bit of a disappointment compared to his defense, which has been among the best in the majors this season, but since the All-Star break, he’s been hitting for extra bases and making better contact. In 14 games in the second half of the season, he’s batting 3-for-5 with eight doubles, four home runs, and a 1.092 OPS.
With 14 homers on the season, he is on pace to reach the 20-homer, 20-steal mark for the first time in his career. He is second in batting average (.274) and third in OPS (.814) in the San Diego lineup and has been a key contributor offensively as well as defensively. His OPS is even higher than the next best hitter, Machado (.786). He’s hitting more home runs than Xander Bogaerts (11, OPS .742), who was acquired in the offseason on an 11-year, $280 million deal.
San Diego has invested heavily, but is still in fourth place in the National League West with 50 wins and 54 losses. They’re seventh in the wild-card race, six games behind tied third-place Miami and San Francisco for the final postseason berth. A playoff ticket is becoming increasingly unlikely. The Padres have several players on the trade market, including closer Josh Hader, ahead of the trade deadline.