Hyeseong Kim had a rough transition to major league pitching during spring training, prompting the Dodgers to start Kim’s season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.
The decision to give Kim more time to develop his swing and his approach in the minor leagues paid off when he was called up during the Dodgers’ road trip in Atlanta, and he has been a bright spot despite receiving limited playing time over his first 21 games.
Kim enters the Dodgers’ three game series against the New York Mets slashing .422/.458/.600 with a 200 wRC+, albeit in just 48 plate appearances, and is coming off a four hit performance in which he launched his second career home run against the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Mirjan Swanson of the Orange County Register writes about Kim’s immediate impact at the big league level, sharing how both players and Dave Roberts feel about his presence within the team.
“Hyeseong, there’s just something about him,” Roberts said. “That youthful enthusiasm, that joy, he’s just happy to be out there, happy to be on the team, and guys feed off the energy, and he takes really good at-bats, he competes. And, you know, giving him some runway, he’s making good on and taking advantage of it.”
Swanson also notes that Kim will be in the starting lineup on Monday against the Mets.
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Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a breakthrough start in Game 2 of the World Series against the Yankees, allowing just one run through 6 1⁄3 innings while recording the win. His next start against New York saw him toss his worst start of the 2025 season, as he failed to complete four full innings for the first time this year.
Yamamoto credited his disappointing outing on Sunday to a lack of command on his pitches, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
“I was not being able to control my pitches,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “During the game, I was trying to make an adjustment, but … I could not get it back, my stuff.”
During Friday’s game against the Yankees, a fan was struck by a chunk of concrete that fell from the stadium reserve level. The Dodgers installed a protective netting surrounding the area before Saturday’s game, reports Branden Kuty of the Athletic, and the fan was in pain but avoided any serious injury.