Ha-seong Kim (28, San Diego Padres) ended the first half of his fourth year in the big leagues on a disappointing note.

Kim went 1-for-3 with one hit, one walk and one run scored in the Padres’ home game against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park in San Diego, California, U.S., on Friday (June 15), starting at shortstop in the sixth spot.

After being thrown out at second and third base in the first inning on a grounder to third baseman Hosby, Kim stole his 18th base of the season in the fourth inning. There was no follow-up hit.

Down 5-1 in the seventh, Kim singled to left field and scored two batters later on Luis Campusano’s two-run double.

In his final at-bat in the eighth, he was retired on a fly ball to left field, and San Diego lost 3-6.

Kim finished the first half of the season batting .226 (73-for-323) with 40 RBIs, 48 runs scored, 10 home runs and 18 doubles in 97 games.

The most noticeable spot is, unfortunately, the drop in batting average.

After starting 2021, his first year in the big leagues, with a .202 batting average, Kim has been on an upward curve every season, but this year he seems to have slowed down.

This is especially disappointing after last year, when he hit .260 with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, and won the National League Gold Glove for utility.

His on-base percentage (0.327) and slugging percentage (0.375) are both down nearly two points from last year.

His on-base percentage (.327) and slugging percentage (.375) are both down nearly two and a half points from last year.

However, he’s been solid on defense and at the plate.

After pushing out specialty infielder Sander Boharz for the starting shortstop spot, Kim played 842⅔ innings at shortstop this year.

According to Statcast, he has an OAA of +6, which ranks in the top 7% of the major leagues.

It’s also the ninth-best among starting shortstops in each organization.

His sprint speed of 28.3 feet per second (8.6 meters per second) helped him record double-digit stolen bases for the third straight year.

With 10 home runs in the first half of the year, there are expectations that he could become the first player to join the 20-homer, 20-steal club in the big leagues.

Outside of Kim Ha-seong, none of the Korean big leaguers have even hit the ground in the first half of the season.

Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), who broke into the major leagues this year, severely injured his left shoulder on May 13 when he crashed into a fence while fielding a ball.

After surgery and six months of rehabilitation, Lee finished his rookie season batting .262 (38-for-145) with two home runs, eight RBIs, two doubles, and a .641 OPS in 37 games.

Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates), in his second year as a full-time player, began the season on the disabled list (IL) with a hip injury, and in June, a wrist injury limited him to eight games (5-for-24).

Choi, who started the season in the minors, opted out of his contract last month and is looking for a new team after leaving the Mets.

Go Woo-seok, who signed with San Diego this year, is knocking on the door of the big leagues with the Miami Marlins after a series of twists and turns, including trades and pending releases.

He has a 4.29 ERA in 16 games and 21 innings at Triple-A and a 6.28 ERA in 12 games and 14⅓ innings at Double-A.

Park Hyo-joon, who was a highly touted prospect with a .477 batting average in exhibition play, hit .256 in 76 games for the Oakland Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate. 안전놀이터