Hyungchan Um
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| Hyungchan Um | |
|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: April 24, 2004 Seoul, South Korea | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
| Hyungchan Um | |
| Hangul | 엄형찬 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Eom Hyeongchan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ŏm Hyŏngchan |
Hyungchan Um (Korean: 엄형찬; born April 24, 2004) is a South Korean professional baseball catcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.
Amateur career
[edit]Um grew up in Seoul, South Korea and attended Gyeonggi Commercial High School. As a senior, he batted 0.390 with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 21 official games. He had also caught 101.2 innings while throwing out 70 percent of would-be base-stealers.[1] For his performance on the year, he was named Best Catcher of the Lee Man-soo Award.[2]
Professional career
[edit]Minor Leagues
[edit]Um signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in July 2022.[3] He made is professional debut in 2023 with the Arizona Complex League Royals. In June 2024, he was promoted to the Columbia Fireflies of the Single A Carolina League for the final two months of the 2024 season after batting 0.310 and slugging 0.500 with four home runs in the Arizona Complex League.[4] During that time, Um entered the organizational prospect rankings by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and FanGraphs.[5][6][7]
Australian Baseball League
[edit]After the 2023 Minor League regular season, Um played in the Australian Baseball League with the Brisbane Bandits.[8] He batted 0.248 with four home runs, and was named one of the finalists for the 2023/24 ABL Catcher-of-the-Year Award after handling the Bandits pitching staff for a full season. Um is expected to return for a second stint with the Bandits.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Um is fluent in English and has picked up Spanish after playing Stateside. Um's father, Jongsoo Um, had played in the Atlanta Braves system in 2001 with their then Class A-Advanced affiliate Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
References
[edit]- ^ "U.S.-bound catching prospect not afraid of new challenges". Yonhap News Agency. July 5, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Royals catching prospect Um Hyungchan named top S. Korean high school backstop". Yonhap News Agency. December 22, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "S. Korean catching prospect signs with Kansas City Royals". Yonhap News Agency. July 4, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Royals' Hyungchan Um has come a long way in a short time". Baseball America. June 27, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Caglianone, Mitchell lead Royals' newest Top 30 prospects list". MLB.com. August 14, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals Prospects: 2024 midseason Top 30 update". Baseball America. July 9, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals Top 42 prospects". FanGraphs. July 11, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "Bluefest: Brewers and Royals coming to Brisbane". Brisbane Bandits. October 28, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ "He's back! Highly touted Royals' catcher Hyungchan Um returns to Bandits". Brisbane Bandits. October 17, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)