Ohtani, Akuna Jr. below Kim…3rd overall in WAR

San Diego’s Ha-Sung Kim, 27, is on a roll. He hit his 15th home run of the season, extending his hitting streak to nine games, and drove in four runs, extending his multi-hit streak to 11 games. His all-around performance, including offense, defense, and baserunning, has led to a steady rise in his Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which ranks third in the majors behind fellow MVP candidates Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta).스포츠토토

Kim started at first base against Colorado on March 3 at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, and went 2-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, one walk, and three RBIs. His season batting average rose from .281 to .284 (98-for-345), and his OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) jumped from .822 to .838.

His WAR, as compiled by baseball stats site Baseball-Reference.com, is now 5.4. Only Ohtani (7.9) and Akuna Jr. (5.5) have higher numbers than Kim. They are two of the top stars in the big leagues and are favorites to win the American League and National League MVP awards, respectively.

WAR is a measure of how much a player contributes to a team’s wins, and Kim could be considered to have contributed five more wins to San Diego. According to ESPN, Kim’s WAR (offense) is 5.4, which ranks second overall behind Akuna Jr. (5.5). Ohtani is third with 5.2.

On this day, Ha-Sung Kim cooled off from his first at-bat in the first inning. He took a 90.5 mph (146 km/h) four-seam fastball from Colorado starter Kyle Freeland on the third pitch of the at-bat and crushed it for a solo shot to left field. It was his 15th of the season and fourth leadoff home run. Kim, who now has 22 stolen bases, needs five more home runs to become the first Asian infielder to join the 20 (home runs)-20 (stolen bases) club.

In the third, he drew a one-out walk and came home on Juan Soto’s two-run homer. In the fifth, he singled up the middle but didn’t come home, and in the seventh, he was stranded on an infield grounder. In his final at-bat in the ninth, he walked and then scored on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s three-run homer. San Diego won the game 11-1 and moved to within five games of the division lead (54-55).