Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho meets plate-appearance requirement

Pirates’ Kang Jung-ho meets plate-appearance requirement. August. 13, 2015 07:29. moonsy1028@gmail.com.

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho met the minimum plate-appearance requirement (341 points) against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. Kang has appeared in 94 games. In the first inning, Kang hit Cardinals’ starting pitcher Carlos Martinez’s 97 mile fastball and ran to the second base. He recorded his 40th hit this season, exhibiting his recovering batting power. He made one hit in four at bats with one RBI, maintaining batting average of 0.293.

Kang’s meeting of the minimum plate-appearance requirement has significant meaning, since expectations had been low that of his taking the main position. In the National League, 75 players have so far met the requirement, with five on average for each team. Kang’s now batting 0.293 (89 hits in 304 at bats) to rank 19th in National League hitting part. Within the Pirates, he’s second to Andrew McCutchen among hitters who has met the requirement.

On-base plus slugging, or OPS, is also an important indicator to judge the ability of hitters in Major League, which refers to on-base percentage plus batting power. To exceed OPS of over 1, players should be equipped with batting power. Kang’s OPS is 0.821 (on-base percentage 0.367 and batting power 0.454), ranking 18th in this sector. He has outstanding hitting power in general. Now the crucial part is whether he can maintain the requirement even after third baseman Josh Harrison and shortstop Jordy Mercer return to ground.