Can Jung Hoo Lee Become a Star Center Fielder for the Giants?

The breakout of Jung Hoo Lee is happening right before our eyes. In what will hopefully be his first full season with the San Francisco Giants, his game seems to be seamlessly translating from the KBO, and he is turning heads across baseball.

Still, it’s important to remember that he is only 15 games into a young season. While the early returns are exciting, it’s an extremely small sample size, and everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

During the offseason, Lee failed to make our Top 10 Center Fielders in Major League Baseball list. He wasn’t even named an honorable mention, putting him outside the top 13 center fielders in the game. However, through the early weeks of the 2025 season, he’s forcing his name right into the conversation.

If he continues to play at this current level, there’s a legitimate argument to be made that he should be around the top five by the end of the season. His offensive production, defensive range, and baserunning abilities have been on full display, and his recent explosion against the Yankees might have been the moment that put his name on the map.

This emergence is even more remarkable when you remember what Lee had to go through last year. After signing a big contract with San Francisco, the young outfielder was out for the entire season after crashing into the center field wall at Oracle Park.

It was a brutal blow that ended his rookie campaign and raised questions about how well he’d bounce back.

But now, almost a year later, Lee is showing who he really is. Let’s take a look at where he stands only a few weeks into the season.

KBO Star Turned Sleeper

Lee’s rapid adjustment stateside shouldn’t be all that surprising if you remember what he accomplished in the KBO. Over seven monster seasons with the Kiwoom Heroes, Lee slashed .340/.407/.491 to go along with his impressive .898 OPS.

While he’s not a huge power threat, he tallied 65 home runs while driving in 515 runs. Lee also walked more than he struck out in the majority of his KBO seasons, a rare feat at any level.

He was named KBO Rookie of the Year and went on to win the league’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2022, a year in which he slashed .349/.421/.575. Lee also saw a noticeable uptick in power that year, with it being the only season he eclipsed the 20 home run mark (23).

Lee’s athleticism also translated well to the outfield. His defensive range and instincts made it clear that he could go and get it with the best defenders anywhere. During the 2023-24 offseason, Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton had this to say about Lee’s defense:

The wheels really show up for Lee in center field, where he is capable of covering plenty of ground. When you blend his plus speed with good jumps and instincts in the outfield, it’s easy to understand why Lee is so impactful with the leather… In addition to his solid range and comfortable routes, Lee’s arm is well above average.

On top of all of this, Lee descends from Korean baseball royalty. His father, Jong Beom Lee, is a KBO legend himself. He was also an MVP, a six-time Golden Glove winner, and a 13-time All-Star.

He was nicknamed “Son of the Wind’ for his speed and ability to steal bases. With the younger Lee being tagged “Grandson of the Wind,” there is no doubt his father passed down his baseball genes as well as his nickname lineage.

After seeing all of this, Lee’s breakout in Major League Baseball feels less like a surprise and more like a progression that was inevitable.

First Glimpse

In 2024, Lee got his first taste of Major League Baseball, and Giants fans were introduced to one of their newest additions. However, his rookie season was cut short after just 37 games when he ended up needing shoulder surgery.

In the small sample, Lee showed several flashes of what he could be, but he never really put it together. He finished the year with a .262 batting average and only two home runs. It was his first professional season in which he failed to hit over .300.

The Breakout

Fast forward to 2025, and the script has completely flipped. A healthy Lee in his first full season is putting on an absolute show in San Francisco. Through his first 15 games of the year — yes, still a small sample size — he’s slashing an absurd .322/.394/.644 with three home runs, already surpassing his total from last season.

On top of that, his 1.038 OPS is good for ninth in baseball, and he’s already accumulated 1.1 fWAR. Possibly the most impressive part, he’s underperforming his expected batting average of .342.

Overall, Lee looks like a true candidate to win the National League batting title. His whiff percentage is in the 89th percentile and was even better last year, showcasing his elite bat-to-ball skills. To add to that, his barrel percentage is up from 4.5% to 10.4%.

Lee has also been more aggressive on the bases, much like the entire Giants’ organization. He’s already swiped three bags, one more than his total from a year ago.

What’s happening on the defensive end is just as encouraging. Despite playing in a tough outfield in Oracle Park, Lee looks completely comfortable. Statistically, he’s posted 1 Out Above Average so far, and the eye test supports it. He’s made a number of difficult plays, navigating center field with an impressive level of poise.

Lee also possesses the arm strength to be a good defender. Even in his limited play in 2024, he ranked in the 97th percentile in MLB in arm strength. Although errors aren’t the best statistic to evaluate defense, Lee has yet to make one in his time in Major League Baseball, which speaks to his clean play.

His sprint speed, while not elite, sits in the 76th percentile of the league. This gives him more than enough time to track down balls and take extra bags when necessary.

The Giants have not had a true superstar position player since the retirement of Buster Posey, the franchise’s new president of baseball operations. However, if Lee keeps this up, that could change fast.

New York Statement

Lee may have marked his arrival to the national spotlight this Sunday, April 13th, at Yankee Stadium. In the deciding game of the series, Lee torched left-hander and former Giant Carlos Rodón for two home runs.

The second — a three-run shot that flipped a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 Giants lead – was the defining moment of the Giants’ comeback win and undoubtedly the biggest swing of Lee’s young career. It also brought his totals from the series to an astonishing .444/.615/.1.556 with three home runs and a wRC+ of 427.

Giants’ broadcast legend Mike Krukow had this to say about Lee:

People that go into Yankee Stadium and do what he did, you’re immediately on the map. For him to do what he did, the way that he did, in the style that he did, he became known around the baseball world.

In the biggest market in the world, Jung Hoo Lee put on an absolute show.

What Comes Next?

Of course, the MLB season is long, grueling, and far from over. The grind of a 162-game season can humble anybody off to a hot start, and for Lee, it’s only been a handful of games. However, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore what he’s doing.

At 12-4, the Giants have been one of the league’s hottest teams to start the year, with Lee being at the center of it all. He may have failed to make our center field rankings this past offseason, but it’s safe to say he’ll be there next time. The only question is: How high can he get?