Kang Jung-ho ranks 8th among shortstops in Major League

Kang Jung-ho ranks 8th among shortstops in Major League. January. 30, 2016 07:59. by 유재영기자 elegant@donga.com. Kang Jung-ho (29) of the Pittsburgh Pirates has been ranked eighth among the shortstops in the Major League Baseball. CBS Sports placed Kang at eighth among the top 15 in the shortstop category of the 2016 Major League on Friday. Kang has earned recognition for his value in the shortstop position, for which many players display excellent on-base play at all different teams.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Andrelton A. Simmons also ranked eighth, claiming the Golden Glove of shortstop in the National League for two consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014. Jhonny Peralta (St. Louis, ranked 10th) with a batting average of 0.268 for 13 seasons and last year's American League Championship Series MVP Alcides Escobar (Kansas City, 11th) were ranked lower than Kang.

Kang, who is recovering from knee injury, stands a high chance of playing the shortstop and third baseman alternatively with his teammate Jordy Mercer again this year. CBS Sports said, “Kang should also lengthen the lineup, offering some pop, but he's still recovering from a broken tibia and torn meniscus suffered last year and won't be ready out of the gate.”

When analyzing Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for the 2015 season, MLB.com also said Kang ranked within the top six among all the Major League shortstops. Kang’s WAR reading is about 4.0. A reading of 4.0 or higher generally indicates a high level of contributions to the team’s wins.