Pittsburgh Pirates: Jung Ho Kang key to 2019 season

A somewhat forgotten player, Jung Ho Kang may well prove to be the key to the Pittsburgh Pirates hopes in 2019.

As the Pittsburgh Pirates get ready for the 2019 season, they find themselves in the midst of a brutal division. The Brewers, Reds, and Cardinals all loaded up during the offseason, while the Cubs are banking on internal improvements to contend. Meanwhile, the Pirates additions this offsesaon included a slew of minor league signings, and the one year deals given to Jordan Lyles and Lonnie Chisenhall. Needless to say, the offseason has been underwhelming.

However, included in those one year deals was a contract to erstwhile third baseman Jung Ho Kang. After two years of legal troubles and difficulty getting his visa, he came back late in the 2018 season. Kang managed to see a bit of game action, getting two hits and striking out once in his six plate appearances.

This year, Kang has had an interesting Spring Training. Heading into Tuesday, Kang only had four hits in his 23 plate appearances, with ten strikeouts. However, all four of those hits have been home runs, a fairly remarkable display of power.

Obviously, the Pirates would like to see a lot more contact out of Kang as Spring Training progresses. However, there is no discounting that surprising burst of power, especially as the Pirates did not get the production they hoped for last season from Colin Moran.

A former consensus top 100 prospect, Moran was finally given a chance to stick in the majors last season. He produced a fairly unremarkable .277/.340/.407 batting line, hitting 19 doubles and 11 homers in his 465 plate appearances. However, given his minor league track record, it is easy to imagine that Moran would have a bit more pop in his bat.

Naturally, the Pirates regard Moran as a part of their future, and are looking to give him plenty of opportunity to improve this season. However, their lineup does not much power, with Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte the only players to reach the 20 homer plateau. In Kang’s last full major league season, he had hit 21 homers and 19 doubles, a significant improvement over what Moran had delivered at the position.

There is still a long way to go before Opening Day. However, with his surprising power display in Spring Training, Jung Ho Kang may force the Pittsburgh Pirates to make a decision at third that they were not expecting to make.