Biography
Hyeseong Kim (Korean: 김혜성; born January 27, 1999) is a South Korean professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the KBO League for the Kiwoom Heroes. Kim made his MLB debut on May 3, 2025 with the Dodgers.
Kim is the only KBO player to receive the Golden Glove Award at shortstop and second base.
Career
Amateur and international career
In 2016, Kim received the Lee Young-min Batting Award, given to the top-hitting high school player in Republic of Korea.
Kim appeared in six baseball contests during the 2022 Asian Games, batting .292/.500/.370 in 18 at-bats, and winning a gold medal for South Korea. He also played for the South Korea national baseball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Nexen / Kiwoom Heroes
Kim signed with the Nexen Heroes of the KBO League and played for them from 2017 through 2024, batting .304 with 37 home runs, 386 RBI and 211 stolen bases in 953 games for the Heroes, who became the Kiwoom Heroes in 2019. He also won four KBO Golden Glove Awards for his defensive ability.
In his final season in the KBO League, Kim played in 127 games for Kiwoom, slashing .326/.383/.458 with 30 stolen bases and career–highs in home runs (11) and RBI (75). On December 4, 2024, the Heroes posted Kim to Major League Baseball (MLB) as a free agent.
Los Angeles Dodgers
On January 3, 2025, Kim signed a three-year, $12.5 million guaranteed contract, which also contained two additional option years that would increase the value to $22 million, with the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. The Dodgers also had to pay an additional posting fee of $2.5 million to the Heroes. On March 11, the Dodgers announced that Kim, after struggling with the bat in spring training games, would start the season in Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Comets. On May 3, Kim was called up to the major leagues and he made his MLB debut as a defensive replacement that night against the Atlanta Braves. Kim recorded his first MLB hit, against Sandy Alcántara of the Miami Marlins, on May 5 in his first start. He had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run in the game.