How Seong-Jun Kim’s Hickory Debut Plays into His Rangers Future

The biggest news in the Texas Rangers organization on Wednesday was that one of their two-way prospects made his Class A debut on the mound.

Seong-Jun Kim started for the Hickory Crawdads and had a sharp, albeit short, outing. Transferred from the Arizona Complex League earlier this week, the right-hander threw two innings, giving up one hit, no runs and no walks. He also struck out four hitters.

Kim also works as an infielder, but Texas is giving their 2025 international signee time to see if he has a path to the Majors like Shohei Ohtani. He is Texas’ No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, with another budding two-way star, Josh Owens, at No. 9.

Owens did not start on Wednesday but appeared late as a pinch-hitter.

Seong-Jun Kim’s Path to the Majors

Seong-Jun Kim's debut line:
2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 K, 0 BB pic.twitter.com/HCq5N8Tr7u
— Hickory Crawdads (@HickoryCrawdads) August 19, 2026

This is just the first step for Kim, who is only 19 years old and has less than 100 games of minor league experience. When Texas signed him last year, it understood Kim would likely be a player that could help them in the next three to four years.

He was transferred from the ACL to Hickory because he played well enough to show that he was worthy of a handful of pitching appearances and plate appearances with the Rangers’ lowest full season affiliate.

While at the ACL, he played 48 games and slashed .303/.419/.545 with seven home runs and 34 RBI. He’s listed as a shortstop but only spent 13 games there. He was the DH 29 times and pitched in five games. Ohtani was an infielder and pitcher before a second elbow injury moved him into a full-time DH role when he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2024 season.

On the mound, Kim went 0-1 with a 1.04 ERA in five starts. He struck out 10 and walked five in 8.2 innings. Batters hit .194 against him.

Hickory wraps up its season Labor Day weekend. It's unlikely the Rangers would promote Kim to their High-A affiliate in Hub City just because the Spartanburgers end their season the same weekend. The only other option would be to send him to Double-A Frisco, which would be a significant jump for a 19-year-old two-way player.

Kim, along with Owens, are likely to play out the season with the Crawdads and then likely head back to the team’s facility in Surprise, Ariz., to continue preparation for 2027. Because neither are Major League players yet, any lockout at the MLB level would not impact their ability to continue their progression.

What the Rangers saw on Wednesday was a taste of what Kim could become and that's a talent worth nurturing.

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