Hyungchan Um

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

Hyungchan Um
Um with the Brisbane Bandits in 2024
Kansas City Royals
Catcher
Born: (2004-04-24) April 24, 2004 (age 20) Seoul, South Korea
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Hyungchan Um
Hangul	엄형찬
Hanja	嚴炯贊
Revised Romanization	Eom Hyeongchan
McCune–Reischauer	Ŏm Hyŏngchan

Amateur career

Um grew up in Seoul, South Korea and attended Gyeonggi Commercial High School. As a senior, he batted 0.390 with three home runs and 30 RBIs in 21 official games. He had also caught 101.2 innings while throwing out 70 percent of would-be base-stealers.^[1] For his performance on the year, he was named Best Catcher of the Lee Man-soo Award.^[2]

Professional career

Minor Leagues

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 0.310 and slugging 0.500 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

After the 2023 Minor League regular season, Um played in the Australian Baseball League with the Brisbane Bandits.^[8] He batted 0.248 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, OPS, base hits, and extra-base hits.^[10] The Bandits named him as 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]

Personal life

Um is fluent in English and has picked up Spanish after playing Stateside. Um's father, Jongsoo Um, had played in the Atlanta Braves system in 2001 with their then Class A-Advanced affiliate Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

References

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.

External links

• Career statistics from MLB, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)