A 17-year-old Korean-Australian boy signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).
On December 14, the team announced in a press release that they had signed shortstop prospect Jayden Kim to a professional contract.
“From the very beginning of my baseball journey, my goal was always to become a professional baseball player,” said Jayden Kim. “I worked towards that dream from a young age, and as I gained attention from scouts and teams, it became evident that I could turn this dream into a reality.”
Kim is the second youth Australian player to sign a professional contract in the offseason.
Born in Korea, Kim began playing baseball at the age of 10 and moved to Australia in 2021 to play in the Australian Baseball League (ABL). He was one of the youngest players to represent the Australian national team at the World Youth Championships last year.
In January, Kim will compete at the U18 National Championships, a national youth baseball tournament in Australia. In February, he will head to the U.S. for training with the Pirates.
His father, David Kim, started his baseball career in Australia at the age of 14 and later played for the LG Twins in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). He later spent more than 20 years as an international scout in the Pacific Rim for the Minnesota Twins before joining the Pirates as a player personnel Senior Advisor in March this year.
BY YEJIN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [kim.yejin3@koreadaily.com]
