Perrotto on the scene: Is Kang really ready? ⁷³

Jung-Ho Kang is 3 for 23 with nine strikeouts in Grapefruit League games this spring. — GETTY

BY JOHN PERROTTO

BRADENTON, Fla. — Sights, sounds and the scene at the Pirates’ spring training …

• Jung-Ho Kang will be headed to minor-league camp Thursday.

No, the rookie infielder from Korea isn’t getting optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis despite his poor performance in exhibitions this spring. Instead, he will play in a minor-league exhibition at the Pirate City complex and get anywhere from six to eight plate appearances in an effort to get on track.

“He’s got 14 different people trying to give him advice and everyone means well,” Clint Hurdle said. “At some point, though, there becomes too much information. He needs to get some at-bats and figures some things out.”

Kang has gone 3 for 23 (.130) with one double and one home run with three walks and nine strikeouts. The home run came in the Grapefruit League opener against the Blue Jays. The double came a day later, also against Toronto.

Normally, spring training statistics mean next to nothing. However, they are at least somewhat instructive in Kang’s case because he has never faced American professional pitching before this. So far, he has struggled in his attempt to become the first native positon player from the Korean Baseball Organization to play in the majors.

More telling than stats is that three scouts informally polled Tuesday at McKechnie Field during the Pirates’ 9-2 loss to the Orioles all felt Kang is not ready to play in the majors at this point. There are some in the Pirates’ braintrust who wonder if the team got ahead of itself when declaring Kang would begin the season in the majors when they signed him to a four-year, $11-million contract Jan. 16.

“I think he has talent and he can eventually be a useful player in the big leagues,” said a scout from a National League team. “Right now, though, he’s not ready to face major league pitching. His bat is too slow because of the big leg kick at the start of his swing. The pitchers throw harder here than in Korea and he’s getting beat by good fastballs. He needs to adjust, and that’s hard to do in the big leagues.”

Kang hit .356 with 40 home runs in 117 games last season for the Nexen Heroes while being named the Most Valuable Player of the KBO. The scouts polled do like his power potential, though they see him eventually hitting 20-25 home runs a year in the majors rather than 40.

The scouts also question if Kang, with his thick body, can play in the middle infield in the majors but that’s a whole ‘nother matter for another day.

While it’s far too early to say the Pirates wasted their money by signing Kang — they also paid a $5,002,015 posting fee to Nexen, making the total outlay just over $16 million — it is now obvious that his acclimation to the big leagues is going to be bumpy.

• As far what Kang is thinking, well, your guess is as good as mine. He says he will not speak to the media for the remainder of spring training.

I long ago quit caring whether players want to deal with the media or not. However, I have been covering baseball for 28 years and this is the first time I remember a player with zero days of major-league experience putting a media ban in effect.

• The Pirates are off Wednesday then return to action by hosting the Braves and Wandy “The Warrior” Rodriguez.

After spending all or parts of the last three seasons with the Pirates milking injuries and smiling about it the whole time, Rodriguez has allowed only one run in 13 innings this spring. He is all been assured of winning a spot in the rotation after signing a minor league contract as a free agent during the offseason.

It never ceases to amaze how some players’ effort level go up the moment a guaranteed contract expires.

• Right-hander Vance Worley will start for the Pirates, and it seems a foregone conclusion that he has beaten out left-hander Jeff Locke for the fifth starter’s job. The only thing left is official confirmation.

• Right-hander Radhames Liz might end up being pitching coach Ray Searage’s best reclamation job yet.

Despite having not pitched in the majors in six years, Liz has a good chance of making the club as a long reliever. He has allowed just two runs in 10 innings over five appearances this spring.

In three seasons with the Orioles from 2007-09, he went 6-8 with a 7.50 ERA in 28 games, including 21 starts. Only one pitcher in major-league history has pitched more innings and had a worse ERA. Aaron Myette posted an 8.16 mark in 154 1/3 innings from 1999-2003 with the White Sox, Rangers, Indians and Reds.

John Perrotto, veteran of four decades of Major League Baseball coverage, is a freelance writer for DKonPittsburghSports.com.