Jung Ho Kang: Early Returns Carry Surprises

Six of Jung Ho Kang’s first seven hits in 2016 have gone for extra bases.

Jung Ho Kang has returned to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his return has gone far better than many would have expected.

Though he has seen just 28 plate appearances since returning from the gruesome injury that caused him to miss nearly two full months of in-season play between 2015 and this season. It would have been entirely fair not to expect much from Kang as he worked his way back to his previous form.

Kang’s return has been impactful, starting with the debut that saw him shot out of a cannon with a two-home run performance through yesterday’s late inning solo shot that sealed a much-needed 2-1 win over the Cubs. Keeping a small sample size in mind, it’s easy to wonder what has factored into Kang’s hot start.

Surely, it’s not luck. Kang’s BABIP (batting average on balls in play) clocks at just .188, far below the major league average. He has not particuarly been able to buy into the PIrates’ new on-base centric approach, with just one walk for a 3.6 percent rate.

He’s slashing .292/.357/.875 and he is making his hits count, with six of his seven total knocks going for extra bases. Kang is crushing the ball, a surprising feat to anyone that watched his rehab stint closely. During his time at Triple-A Indianapolis, Kang’s timing was understandably off. Though he showed a good eye, he was  very behind on pitches that a healthy Kang would easily connect with.

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As per Baseball Savant, Jung Ho Kang has whiffed on just eight strikes during his return, or 7.5 percent. More surprising is the degree to which pitchers have pitched him differently in 2016. Kang is seeing about a full five percent more off-speed pitches year-over-year, and his whiff rate on those pitches is eight percent lower than 2015. In the chess match that is pitcher versus batter, opposing pitchers clearly feel that challenging Kang during the early days of his return with offspeed stuff gives them a better chance than sending heat. Give credit to Kang for being able to adjust and connect with good contact, but it becomes fair to wonder how soon pitchers will pitch him differently.

Last year’s results for Kang on four-seam fastballs are encouraging, with a 16.91 percent whiff rate, coupled with a very good line drive rate of 40 percent.

In attempting to take advantage of Jung Ho Kang with offspeed stuff before he was fully re-adjusted, pitchers may have instead given him a cushion to build confidence in his swing before being challenged with more fastballs.

 

Photo Credit – Jon Dawson – Flickr Commercial License