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Twins Win Bidding On Korean LHP Hyeon-jong Yang

By CM Towle

October 4, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Detail view of baseballs with the postseason logo before game one of the American League divisional series playoff baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. The Tigers defeated Athletics 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 4, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Detail view of baseballs with the postseason logo before game one of the American League divisional series playoff baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. The Tigers defeated Athletics 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Minnesota Twins have won the bidding for Korean LHP Hyeon-jong Yang, giving them exclusive rights for 30 days to negotiate an MLB deal with the pitcher.

The Twins now have 30 days to negotiate a deal with the left-hander, but as Berardino points out, a deal could be close. Yang was posted by the Korean Baseball Organization’s Kia Tigers three weeks ago.

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Yang won the Korean equivalent of the Cy Young this season and his ERA of 4.25 is 25 percent better than the league average, according to a story by Hard Ball Talk.

Essentially it’s difficult to put a lot of emphasis on the ERA of Korean pitchers as the league is extremely tilted towards hitters and the league average this season is 5.63. The fact that Yang’s 4.25 ERA is almost decent by MLB standards in a hitter’s league is fairly notable. If Yang was in the MLB and 25 percent better than the average, his ERA would be 2.80.

Yang is 26 years old and his fastball is between 92 and 95 miles per hour. He made his debut in 2007 at the age of 19, initially in the rotation, but was moved to the bullpen with control issues.

The same thing happened in 2008, but he had a breakout year in 2009 with a 3.15 ERA and 139 strikeouts. Between 2010 and 2013, he again struggled with control. His seasons in 2013 and 2014 were better, but not spectacular.

Yang has been projected to be a number two or three starter in the rotation, but as noted by Twins Daily, fans should take this with a big grain of salt.

"The primary discrepancy surrounds Yang’s fastball, which is sometimes reported as reaching the mid-90s, but is also is listed at times as topping out at 91 or 92 mph. His best pitch is his slider, but he doesn’t throw it very often, reserving it as a strikeout pitch. He also has a changeup, which has a nice velocity differential, but its movement is inconsistent."

The main concern with Yang, however, is his control. He’s only had one really good year and then several others where he’s struggled. His overall base on balls per nine innings while playing in the KBO is 4.7, which is pretty bad.

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