It’s the fall of fruitfulness. KIA waits for a big hit from Tesshyeong.
KIA foreign-born outfielder Socrates Brito, 31, has been steady throughout the season, but he has faded a bit at the end of the season. In 12 games in September, he is batting .209 with nine doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and seven runs scored in 43 at-bats. This is his lowest monthly batting average this season.
He was uncharacteristically left out of the starting lineup against the Gwangju Doosan on May 15. He played one at-bat in the middle of the game, but didn’t get a hit, and his batting average has dropped to .143 in his last 10 games. It’s possible that his senses, rhythm, etc. were affected by playing without rest. You can’t play well every game, and any leadoff hitter can get tired at this point.
Even in the 2022 season, when Socrates was sidelined for the month of July, his pace dropped off a bit in August and September. This year, in 115 games without a major injury, he’s batting .281 with 438 hits, 123 doubles, 17 home runs, 75 RBI, 76 runs scored, an OPS of 0.816, and a slugging percentage of .295. In the second half, however, he hit .265 with six home runs and 26 RBIs.
His rate stats are down a bit from last year, when he hit .311 with an OPS of .848. But the home runs and RBIs are definitely up. Crucially, his secondary stats are excellent. His 4.07 WAR is 14th in the league and first on the team, according to Baseball-Reference. Among outfielders in the league, it’s third behind Hong Chang-ki (LG, 5.58) and Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom, 4.52). Together with Hong, they are the top two considering Lee was out for the first half of the season. 온라인바카라
His 127.8 adjusted run production is 15th in the league and second on the team behind Choi Hyung-woo (149.9). His weighted slugging percentage of 0.371 is 16th in the league and second on the team, and his win probability contribution of 1.58 is 19th in the league and third on the team. Even if his numbers aren’t spectacular, he’s still the centerpiece of the KIA lineup, and he’s done a good job of it.
The weaknesses are obvious, of course. He’s batting .235 against lefties this year. He is somewhat vulnerable to low pitches. There are times when he has lapses in concentration in the field and at the plate, but there are also times when he plays surprisingly solid defense. Along with Na Sung-bum, he is a solid part of the KIA outfield.
The KIA outfield is centered around Na and Socrates. Lee Woo-sung and Choi Won-joon alternate at the other two spots, and there are good backups in Go Jong-wook and Lee Chang-jin. It’s a solid lineup that won’t be too noticeable if Socrates falters right away.
However, with Socrates in the middle of the order, a prolonged September slump is not a good thing. After a nine-game winning streak, the team’s overall pace has slowed down a bit with back-to-back losses. At a time like this, KIA needs a big hit from Socrates.