Reporter Kim Jin-sung] It will take another month to be fully fit. I have to hold on a little longer.

KIA’s batting line-up has relied heavily on Choi Hyung-woo this season. Ryu Ji-hyuk and Park Chan-ho have been outstanding, but they’re only putting food on the table. The veteran Kim Sun-bin is in the middle of the order, but he’s a defensive liability. His ankle is also a liability.메이저사이트

In fact, Hwang Dae-in, who shouldn’t be in the second team, and Byun Woo-hyuk and Kim Seok-hwan, who are in the first team, should help Choi Hyung-woo with their long balls and clutch ability. But the reality is that Choi Hyung-woo carries a lot of weight. Go Jong-wook and Lee Woo-sung have performed above expectations, but they can’t fully fill the void left by Na Sung-bum.

That’s why foreign batsman Socrates Brito is so important. Last year, Socrates struggled in April, but he came alive in May. This year, his May performance was expected to be even better, as he hit .278 with two home runs, 13 RBIs and nine runs scored in April and .318 with four home runs, 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored in May.

That’s down from last year’s May, when he hit .415 with five home runs and 28 RBIs, but he’s rebounded. In 47 games this season, he’s batting .305 with six home runs, 30 RBIs, 22 runs scored, and an OPS of .819. That’s 12th in the league in batting average and 12th in OPS, but it’s hard to be satisfied with that.

For all the talk of Socrates, Jong-Kook’s manager expected him to hit long balls whenever he got the chance. It shows that his batting average in scoring position eventually converges to his season batting average. However, it would be nice to see a few more long balls in scoring position or at key times. According to baseball stats site Statiz, he’s 15-for-49 with runners in scoring position this season, with four doubles and two home runs.

He’s batted .232 with a .629 OPS in low leverage, .379 with a 1.005 OPS in medium leverage, .333 with a .908 OPS in high leverage, and .222 with a .495 OPS in high leverage+. He’s a bit of a disappointment in High Leverage+, but that’s a decent level for a foreign hitter.

In his last 10 games, he’s batting .341 with one home run and seven RBIs. In particular, on the 4th against the Busan Lotte, he hit a fastball from Han Hyun-hee with two outs in the top of the sixth inning for the game-winning RBI double. It was the ideal scene that manager Kim Jong-kook could have hoped for.

It is true that he is weaker against left-handers (0.255) than right-handers (0.313) and under-pitchers (0.412). It’s a bit of an Achilles’ heel against lefties. But he has a lot of other strengths, and it’s a good enough line considering he’s a two-hitter. With his recent velocity, he’ll need to be a stronger clutch partner for Choi in June.