Dodgers’ utility player Hyeseong Kim is no longer a rookie, and the 2026 season will be vital for the young player to break into the roster with a major role.
Kim started the 2025 season in the minor leagues, adjusting his mechanics to American baseball and getting settled ot the stateside baseball player lifestyle.
However, amid a crisis of injuries during the regular season, the Dodgers turned to Kim, calling him up and giving him a good amount of run after he impressed with an early-season hot stretch.
He lost momentum as pitchers adjusted to his hitting style, and a shoulder injury did not help matters.
For the first half of the season, Kim took 112 at-bats, hitting .339/.378/.464 with a 136 OPS+. The second half was a lot less fruitful with fewer at-bats, hitting .143/.160/.204 with a 1 OPS+.
In the postseason, Kim only played in two games, getting no at-bats. To make matters worse, some players were struggling to get going on offense, and Kim could have been an option, though manager Dave Roberts ultimately trusted other players, like Miguel Rojas, to deliver.
2026 is a new year for Hyeseong Kim
While his first season did not end on a great note, he made much more progress than even the organization expected, and with a new season to reset, manager Dave Roberts is ready to give him a bigger role.
“Hyeseong’s in the mix, we got Espinal, obviously, Miggy Ro’s gonna do some things over there, Freeland certainly in the mix, so we’ve got some nice options,” Roberts said.
“That’s something that’s interesting, Tommy’s a guy that we’re gonna be thinking about, but I think Hyeseong’s gonna play some center field as well.
“I want to get him out there, because I want to get him at bats. With Hyeseong, I think that just the adjustability with the high ball, the spin, just kind of, I think that he got a good introduction to Major League pitching, and I think he’s gonna be better this year.
“And the surface line was fine for Hyeseong, he did a really nice job for us. So I thought he had a great year for the opportunities that he was given. I expect he’s gonna have more opportunities this year, and then we’ll see where it takes him. But he’s a hard worker, and he’s an easy, easy guy to bet on.”
Dodgers fans should expect Kim to get a chance to become an everyday consideration for Dave Roberts if he makes the adjustments to become the player that he was in the first half of his rookie year.