Hyun Soo Kim

Kim's 2016 season did not exactly get off to the best of starts. He looked so lost in spring training that there were rumors the team was looking for ways to get out of his two-year deal and send him back to Korea. Then a funny thing happened along the way -- Kim started hitting. He ended the season with a .302/.382/.420 slash line -- impressive for someone that looked completely overmatched throughout all of spring training. Part of that success was due to the team limiting his exposure to lefties because he cannot hit them -- he was literally 0-for-the-season (across 23 plate appearances) against lefties. He has a good approach at the plate and makes strong contact when he is in the game, but his upside is limited because any exposure to lefties would only drag down his average. He has only shown doubles power to date so his value is tied to his batting average.

Kim, who turned 28 in January, signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Orioles — a team in desperate need of outfield help. In 141 games in the Korean Baseball Organization last year, Kim hit 28 homers and notched 128 RBI while also getting on base at a .438 clip. Those numbers made him a superstar in the KBO, but he is unlikely to be that kind of impact player stateside. That said, anyone with Kim’s approach (more walks than strikeouts in Korea) and above average raw power should be able to carve out a semi-regular role on a team like Baltimore. The O’s have Nolan Reimold, Dariel Alvarez, L.J. Hoes and Henry Urrutia hanging around as outfield options on either side of Adam Jones, and there is no reason to think Kim cannot emerge from that underwhelming collection of spare parts as the everyday option in left field. There is not much hype around Kim, but he has a clearer path to playing time than Byung-ho Park in Minnesota.