"Awesome Kim" Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta Braves) showed a strong presence from the first day of his Triple-A rehab game.
Kim Ha-seong, of the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, started at shortstop and batted second in the away game against the Norfolk Tides (affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles) of the 2026 minor leagues at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S., on the 6th (all times Korea time unless noted), going 2 for 4 with one run scored.
His first plate appearance ended in a strikeout. In the top of the first with one out and no runners, facing Norfolk starter Nestor Herrmann, he grabbed a favorable 2-0 count but after a foul, a whiff and another foul, he swung and missed at the sixth pitch, an 80.2 mph (129 km) slider that dropped low.
The second at-bat was different. In the top of the third with two outs and no runners and Atlanta leading 1-0, he fell into an unfavorable 1-2 count against Herrmann but attacked a 92.4 mph (148 km) four-seam fastball that was up and turned it into an infield single to right. However, the next hitter, Nacho Alvarez Jr., struck out looking and the opportunity to score did not materialize.
Kim Ha-seong led off the top of the sixth with the game tied 1-1 and was retired on a batted ball. After a full-count battle, he took Herrmann's seventh pitch, an 88 mph (141 km) cutter away, and grounded out to shortstop.
Kim Ha-seong recorded his second hit in his final plate appearance. Leading off the top of the eighth with the game tied 3-3, he lined a medium-center hit off reliever José Espada. Ahead in the count 2-1, he drove the fourth pitch, an 81.5 mph (131 km) slider down in the zone. Kim Ha-seong later scored on Alvarez Jr.'s go-ahead two-run homer, breaking the 3-3 tie.
Kim Ha-seong left the game in the bottom of the eighth, replaced by Luke Williams, and left the field in good spirits with his team leading 5-3. With Gwinnett finishing with a 5-3 victory, Kim Ha-seong was credited with the game-winning run.
Before the 2026 season, Kim Ha-seong re-signed with Atlanta on a one-year, $20 million deal (about 29.2 billion won) but suffered an unlucky injury ahead of spring training. In mid-January at home, he slipped on ice and injured his finger; examinations showed a torn tendon in his right middle finger that required surgery. As a result, his participation in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was canceled, and he spent time on a rehab schedule after the season opened.
Shaking off the injury, Kim Ha-seong began full rehab games in the minors on the 30th of last month. After checking his form in four Double-A games with a .333 batting average (3 hits in 9 at-bats), three runs, four walks and an .871 OPS, he was promoted to Triple-A, and announced his big-league return prospects by recording multiple hits in his first game.
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