Left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang of Korea reportedly coming to majors
His name is Hyeon-jong Yang, a 26-year-old left-hander who pitches for the Kia Tigers in Korea’s top baseball league, and he’s reportedly heading to Major League Baseball this winter.
Reporter Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News writes that once Yang is posted by his team, any interested major league clubs will submit bids in order to win exclusive negotiating rights, and have 30 days from that point to work out a deal.
An inevitable comparison is left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who has been a smashing success in the majors since coming over from Korea in 2012. The Dodgers paid $25.7 to negotiate with Ryu, who later signed a six-year, $36 million deal to stay in North America.
Yang projects as a No. 3 starter in the big-leagues, though according to a scout that has seen him throw, he could develop into a No. 2. With a fastball that sits between 92-95 mph, Yang throws four pitches — fastball, curveball, slider and changeup — using his slider as his out pitch.
The southpaw won the inaugural Choi Dongwon Award this year, Korea’s equivalent to the Cy Young. According to statistics on baseball-reference.com, Yang went 16-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 28 starts, his ERA coming in about a half-run lower than the league-average in the offensive-minded league.
Here are 67 videos of Hyeon-jong Yang in action. He figures to be a target for the New York Yankees, Dodgers and, oh, anyone else interested in adding pitching depth.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter!
