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Hyungchan Um

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Hyungchan Um
Um with the Brisbane Bandits in 2024
Kansas City Royals
Catcher
Born: (2004-04-24) April 24, 2004 (age 21)
Seoul, South Korea
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Hyungchan Um
Hangul
엄형찬
Hanja
嚴炯贊
RREom Hyeongchan
MRŎm Hyŏngch'an

Hyungchan Um (Korean: 엄형찬; born April 24, 2004) is a South Korean professional baseball catcher in the Kansas City Royals organization.

Amateur career

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Um grew up in Seoul, South Korea and attended Gyeonggi Commercial High School. As a senior, he batted .390 with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 21 official games. He also caught 101.2 innings while throwing out 70 percent of would-be base-stealers.[1] For his performance on the year, he was presented the Lee Man-soo Award as the best catcher in South Korean high school baseball.[2]

Professional career

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Minor Leagues

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Um signed with the Kansas City Royals as an international free agent in July 2022.[3] He made is professional debut in 2023 with the Arizona Complex League Royals. In June 2024, he was promoted to the Columbia Fireflies of the Single A Carolina League for the final two months of the 2024 season after batting .310 and slugging .500 with four home runs in the Arizona Complex League.[4] During that time, Um entered the organizational prospect rankings by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and FanGraphs.[5][6][7]

Australian Baseball League

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After the 2023 Minor League regular season, Um played in the Australian Baseball League with the Brisbane Bandits.[8] He batted .248 with four home runs, and was named one of the finalists for the 2023-24 ABL Catcher-of-the-Year Award after handling the Bandits pitching staff for a full season. Um returned for a second stint with the Bandits for the 2024-25 season.[9] He led the league in total bases (78), finished second in home runs (10), while ranking in the top five in RBI, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging, base hits, and extra-base hits.[10] The Bandits named him the organization's Offensive Player of the Year.[11] Um and his teammate Brennon McNair became the first duo to hit double-digits in home runs since the 2018-19 season.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "U.S.-bound catching prospect not afraid of new challenges". Yonhap News Agency. July 5, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "Royals catching prospect Um Hyungchan named top S. Korean high school backstop". Yonhap News Agency. December 22, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "S. Korean catching prospect signs with Kansas City Royals". Yonhap News Agency. July 4, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Royals' Hyungchan Um has come a long way in a short time". Baseball America. June 27, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "Caglianone, Mitchell lead Royals' newest Top 30 prospects list". MLB.com. August 14, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  6. ^ "Kansas City Royals Prospects: 2024 midseason Top 30 update". Baseball America. July 9, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "Kansas City Royals Top 42 prospects". FanGraphs. July 11, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  8. ^ "Bluefest: Brewers and Royals coming to Brisbane". Brisbane Bandits. October 28, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "He's back! Highly touted Royals' catcher Hyungchan Um returns to Bandits". Brisbane Bandits. October 17, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  10. ^ "Royalty Down Under". Raising Royals. January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  11. ^ "Bandits Awards Night 2024/25". Brisbane Bandits. February 6, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  12. ^ "Second half surge, ballpark fun in Bandits' 2024-25 season". Brisbane Bandits. January 31, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
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