Unowned
Ji-Hwan Bae, OF
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Scouting report
No change to Bae's report as he was sequestered at the alt site all year: Bae's teenage years were quite tumultuous off the field. He was wrapped up in the Braves' international indiscretions and had his deal with the club voided by MLB. (The New York Times reported that although Bae had agreed to sign for $300,000, the Braves planned to pay him an additional $600,000 by reallocating money promised to other signees to him.) Because he had skipped the KBO's draft to sign with an MLB team, the KBO barred him from signing with any South Korean pro team for two years. When he hit the market again, Bae signed with Pittsburgh for $1.25 million. He was found guilty of and later suspended for assaulting his former girlfriend in an incident that occurred on New Year's Eve 2017. After the suspension and a treatment/education program, Bae returned to the field, and was skipped over two levels and sent to full-season ball at age 19, where he hit .323/.403/.430. His domestic assault conviction impacts how teams (and people, in general) view, value, and interact with him, but purely on talent, some clubs think he belonged on my top 100 list. Bae's arm may prevent him from playing shortstop, but if that's the case he'll still fit at second base and he has the speed to play center field. It's possible his lack of power hurts his on-base skills as he climbs the minors and pitchers attack him without fear of him doing extra-base damage (he has no minor league home runs yet), but Bae's gotten stronger, his exit velos took a leap in 2019, and he has premium rotational ability. He should develop enough thump to keep pitchers honest and become a table-setting regular at second or in center field. (Alternate site)