Kang Baek-ho Scouting Report (강백호)
Outfielder/Right-Handed Pitcher
KT Wiz (케이티 위즈) — KBO
Tool (PV/FV)
Notes & Comments
Hit (35/45)
Pulls off hard to pull side, trying to pull the ball and kill it; above-average bat speed. Swings to do damage with extremely pronounced leg kick/stride and plenty of weight transfer through swing. Sells out to pull side in approach and struggles for full plate coverage, but shows remarkably advanced hand-eye coordination to get the bat on the ball even with weak contact when off-balanced and fooled away. Long swing with very long windup to launch point; will get tied up and beat by hard stuff up high and on the inner half, and also susceptible to knee buckling and timing issues from good breaking balls, particularly via LHP. Hand-eye coordination and barrel manipulation will play, but can’t imagine him ever hitting for average barring a significant change in approach.
Power (40/55)
Loose, relaxed bat with above-average bat speed; strong hands and wrists, particularly so considering he’s still just a teenager. Easy, loose swing with plenty of pop; plus raw power right now, though needs more consistency to produce hard hit balls in the air in game action. His one home run swing in my look was an absolute bomb to right-center field; he’ll hit the ball a long, long way when he gets a hold of one in the wheelhouse down and in. Swing is extremely timing dependent on that large leg kick; will be late to the ball at times and far out in front with weight at other times; consistently swinging unbalanced, and so robbed of power by virtue of being so susceptible to changing speeds.
Glove (35/45)
Good enough outfield defender to play a corner spot right now; more than enough arm strength for right field. Below-average runner and doesn’t get great jumps in the outfield, but serviceable for a corner role there with all his value coming at bat. Will likely DH a bit for KT Wiz, as well. Could turn into average defender in time at ceiling, but will have to do some work to keep up athleticism and maintain weight to make outfield a reality well into his career.
Arm (50/60)
Strong arm and good accuracy from the outfield further aided by pitching prowess (more below); above-average arm strength in game situations and time/ability to develop into plus arm strength towards prime; just another tool in the toolbox that will aid his defensive profile immensely.
Speed (35/40)
Timed him 4.31 down the line and 4.71 turn from the LHH box; not bad times for his size (6’0″, 215 lbs.) and power role, but considering the general lack of athleticism and physical projection in his body, tough to see him getting too much faster in the future. Speed unlikely to be a major part of his game; not a stolen base threat.
Pitching
Has been dubbed the Shohei Ohtani of Korea; Kang Baek-ho can pitch and hit, and KT Wiz drafted him to do both, though I regrettably never saw him pitch in KBO spring training action this month.
Notes
Bad body guy; listed at 6’0″ and 215 lbs. and looser/sloppier throughout the body, particularly through waist and midsection. Reportedly has a pretty poor diet, and rumor mill has it there’s a weaker work ethic here to keep weight off thus far in his career. Weight will grow to be a problem point as he gets older; going to have to work hard to keep himself in physical shape into and past his prime; will ultimately transition into slower power hitter/power pitcher type with little athleticism or physical upside in future profile.
OFP (50 FV)
Tough to fully grade out Kang Baek-ho without seeing him pitch, so consider this just a view of his positional work. Plenty of projection and upside with his bat, particularly in developing a legitimate power stroke, but also plenty of work ahead to draw it out. Risk further complicated by two-way ability; wonder whether focusing on pitching and hitting roles will doom each to mediocrity as opposed to specializing; time will tell on that. For now, raw power is for real and should acquit him well fairly quickly in KBO transition. Lots of work to do to maintain good frame in the future; no real physical projection through body that would help aid profile. Should eventually settle in as an everyday right fielder in KBO with a good shot at being a significant contributor or even a star in that KT Wiz lineup, all entirely dependent on how much he produces at the plate. MLB ETA: N/A.
Kang Baek-ho Scouting Report (강백호), KT Wiz (케이티 위즈) — Game Video
In addition to our Kang Baek-ho scouting report (강백호), we have game video below. You can get more KT Wiz (케이티 위즈) prospect videos when you click here and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
More from our Kang Baek-ho scouting report (강백호) and other KT Wiz (케이티 위즈) and KBO baseball prospects:
Jair Jurrjens, RHP | Park Se-jin, LHP | Daniel Schlereth, LHP | Ko Young-pyo, RHP | Kim Jae-yoon, RHP | Xavier Scruggs, 1B
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