“Found a catcher, leadoff hitter and closer all at once”... Why the Kia Tigers are looking ahead to 2027 despite falling short of the Korean Series

[Financial News] The Kia Tigers’ bid to reach the Korean Series (KS) ended in disappointment in the decisive fifth game.
But the Tigers did not come away empty-handed in the fall of 2026. Alongside their dramatic rise from eighth to third in the regular-season standings and Kim Do-young’s complete comeback, there was another thrilling payoff.
They found, all at once, the perfect players for three key positions that are notoriously difficult to fill quickly, no matter how much money a team spends. They are Han Jun-soo, who claimed the catcher’s spot; leadoff hitter Park Jae-hyun, who could perhaps fill the role for 10 years; and Jeon Sang-hyun, who shut down the ninth inning.

The first major change to stand out is the shift in power behind the plate.
This year, the Kia Tigers elevated Han Jun-soo, a sure part of their future, to a starting role. He played 115 regular-season games, batting .281 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs, comfortably surpassing the 88 appearances made by veteran Kim Tae-gun, who has been through it all. Han also has a rare distinction: he is a left-handed-hitting catcher with outstanding offensive production. He is strong against left-handers, at one point batting over .400 against left-handed pitchers in late July.
He also withstood the pressure of a short series. In Game 4 of the playoff against the Samsung Lions, who were on the brink of elimination, he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, including the go-ahead, game-winning hit in the seventh, and took home Daily MVP honors. Han Jun-soo is no longer merely the Tigers’ “future”—he is unquestionably their “present.”

The most remarkable transformation belongs, without a doubt, to 20-year-old leadoff hitter Park Jae-hyun. A defensive replacement who batted just .081 (five hits) in 58 games last year reinvented himself in only one year as a true No. 1 hitter, playing 132 games and batting .293 with 19 home runs, 21 steals, 81 runs scored and a .802 OPS. Considering that the leadoff spot was the Kia Tigers’ biggest concern before the season, Park’s emergence has been more than a godsend.
Park Jae-hyun’s true value lies beyond his powerful 19-home-run, 21-steal line. In the October 12 game against the LG Twins, he was just one home run short of joining the 20-20 club. Leading off the bottom of the eighth, Park set aside his personal ambition to reach the milestone and laid down a surprise bunt to secure third place for his team.
That sacrifice set up Kim Do-young’s go-ahead two-run homer. Even on the big postseason stage, on days when his bat went cold, Park saved the team with diving defensive plays. He is a “complete leadoff hitter,” with power, speed, defense and a selfless mindset.
Of course, Park Jae-hyun struggled in the postseason. But even if a player excels in his first full-time season, the fall is virtually a rite of passage. It is something you have to go through at least once. Even Hyun-soo Kim, a hitting machine during his time with the Doosan Bears, struggled in his first Korean Series, showing that the postseason is no easy stage for a newcomer. This fall’s slump could become a catalyst for Park to develop further.


The final piece of the puzzle is Jeon Sang-hyun, the closer the team needed most.
He has completely locked down the Kia Tigers’ bullpen, which had long been walking a tightrope with a closer-by-committee approach. This season, he appeared in 46 games, logging 46⅓ innings with four wins, two losses, 15 holds, four saves and a 2.33 ERA. He was stingy on the mound, allowing just 0.80 walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP).
He missed as many as 49 days after suffering an internal oblique injury in April, but after returning, he worked his way through the setup corps and firmly established himself as the closer. He was even more dominant in the postseason.
Since October, he has put together 11 consecutive scoreless games across the regular season and postseason. He induced an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth of Game 3 of the playoff, then threw two perfect innings in Game 4. Across five postseason games, he was an imposing presence, allowing no runs over 7⅓ innings. The Kia Tigers have developed him so well internally that they may not need to look to the external free-agent market next season.
A leadoff hitter who gets the offense flowing, a catcher who steadies the pitchers, and a closer who puts the finishing touch on wins. In just one year, the team built all three of baseball’s essential pillars—positions that cannot be filled with a brief flash of form. Though a title run will have to wait, that is why the Kia Tigers’ future is far from bleak.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter