Diamondbacks 2024 Top Prospects No. 30: Kevin Sim

This article is part of a series counting down the Diamondbacks Top 30 prospects entering the 2024 season. These rankings are determined by Michael McDermott, in conjunction with the Inside the Diamondbacks staff.

Bio: Kevin Sim is the son of star Korean Slugger Chong Soo Shim, who hit .285 with 328 home runs in a 15-year career in the KBO. The family immigrated from South Korea to San Diego when Kevin was seven years old. Sim played his high school ball at Torrey Pines before going to the University of San Diego. In three years at San Diego, he hit .285 with 27 home runs before getting selected by the D-backs with their fifth round pick of the 2023 Draft. He signed for a slightly below slot value of $375,000.

Rank: 30

Age: 22

Height/Weight: 6'2" 210

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Tools: Hit 50, Power 50, Defense 40, Run 40, Arm 50, Overall 40

ETA: 2026

What the D-backs are saying about him:

"Like the bat, like the power here. His dad played 15 years and hit 300 homers in the KBO. We think he's a power-hitting third baseman. He's hit when was there, hit on the Cape, he's always had power. A player we scouted here at the combine at Chase Field, he really performed well there showing off that raw power. An ability to play third and be that right-handed power threat on the corner." - Scouting Director Ian Rebhan

2023 Season Recap: Sim opened the year with San Diego, which played in the Western Coast Conference. In 38 games, Sim hit .298 with 13 home runs and nearly as many walks (24) and strikeouts (26). After an impressive Draft Combine workout at Chase Field, that was enough for Arizona to select him. Sim started out with four games at the complex, but was quickly elevated to Class A Visalia. In 29 games with Visalia he slashed .255/.333/.400 with seven doubles, three home runs, and a strikeout to walk ratio of 31 to 10. Overall it was a solid summer debut, playing in a league close to home.

2024 Expectations: The main area of development will be the bat, as that will carry his overall profile. Given the combination of hit and power, Sim at a minimum will have to hit lefties to carve out a future role on a major league roster. He's likely to open the 2024 season with High-A Hillsboro, the one extreme pitcher-friendly league in the D-backs system. A guy whose carrying tool is power, the main two stats to watch will be his strikeout and ground ball rates. His development track could be similar to A.J. Vukovich, who spent the majority of the year with Hillsboro then a late-season promotion to Double-A Amarillo.

Projection: Sim doesn't really profile for a particular position, but could play a first base/left field profile. The issue with that is he's a right-handed bat and would play on the short side of the platoon. Left field seems to be the best place for a potential everyday role, although the size of Chase Field's outfield will make that challenging. Sim will hit his way to the big leagues but will probably wind up in a high-usage bench role on a playoff caliber team.