The World Baseball Classic is a tournament where someone you’ve never heard about can come on your radar years before becoming a household name across the global sports landscape.
Before Roki Sasaki helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 2025 World Series, he was a spindly flamethrower for Samurai Japan en route to their WBC victory in 2023.
While Japan, per usual, is front and center at the upcoming WBC, with half of the country prepared to tune in, the young Asian superstar to watch isn’t from Japan.
Teruaki Sato is electric from the Hanshin Tigers and could steal the show if given enough playing time, but he’s already 26. He’s a legitimate superstar in Japan and would easily make over $200 million if ever posted to the MLB and fully healthy.
No, the player to watch is a kid who just turned 22 and won the Korean Baseball Organization MVP at the bright age of 20. You might not know him yet, but you will, KIA Tigers’ crown jewel Kim Do-yeong.
He is a monster.
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We’ve seen talented hitters like Kim Ha-seong, Kim Hye-seong, and Lee Jung-hoo make their way to the MLB over the past few years, with the latter getting a massive 6-year, $113 million contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Although Lee is considered the one with the most superstar potential of the bunch, he doesn’t compare to the 22-year-old who had an OPS of 1.067 in his MVP season two years ago.
Lee’s highest home run total in the KBO was 23 when he was 23.
Tigers’ Kim? He blasted 38 home runs when he was 20. And he also stole 40 bases, along with playing solid-to-above-average defense.
You might not have heard about him recently because he was injured in the opening game of the 2025 season and played only 30 games. Kim still homered seven times and had an overall OPS of .942.
Now, hopefully healthy, the future of South Korean baseball is at the WBC, looking to make himself known not only to fans in Japan but to everyone watching around the world.
On Monday, he tied the game against the Hanshin Tigers with a solo home run, which eventually ended in a draw.
On Tuesday, the generational talent took another massive swing against an NPB foe, this time a three-run blast against the Orix Buffaloes, who beat Samurai Japan the day prior.
While all eyes are on the United States superteam, or the power of the Dominican Republic, or Ohtani with Japan, don’t overlook South Korea, which wants to make it to the knockout round for the first time in over a decade.
Remember the name Kim Do-yeong. Be the first of your baseball friends to say how he might be the future of Asian baseball, regardless of country.
He’s already turning heads in Japan. Next, it’s time for the world to notice South Korea’s golden player.
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