St. Louis Cardinals Seung-hwan Oh: Fantasy Impact in 2016?

By Brad Kelly | Jan 10, 2016

Oct 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Cardinals 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

The St. Louis Cardinals look to have made a move Sunday night that will probably fly under the radar, but also happens to be very intriguing. They seemed to have inked stud Korean Baseball and Japanese League closer, Seung-hwan Oh, who looks to join one of the better bullpens in baseball

For most of us that do not know who Oh is, he has basically been Mariano Rivera like over his 10 year career between Korea and Japan notching 192 SV over just the last five seasons. He has amassed 357 career SV, 772 career K, and averaged 10.7 SO/9. He ranks amongst the best you would find in the Asian professional leagues and has had his sights on coming to America since 2013.

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From a scouting report perspective, Oh has the arsenal to compete at the major league level. Even though he is 33 yrs. old, he still has a mid-90s “heavy” fastball, a mid-80’s slurve, and has a changeup and curve which are used sparingly. From his video online, he has a compact delivery that lacks the drastic hesitations that Asian pitchers normally have and has shown solid command his entire career.

He has never walked more than 20 batters in one season, and those 20 came during his rookie season, so he has shown that he has been able to pound the strike zone and stay out of trouble. While the batters in the KBO and JPCL are not all at the MLB level, he has been able to limit homers as well never giving up more than seven in one season, while pitching in ballparks that can be mightily small as well.

Outside of a two-year stretch in 2009 through 2010, where he was battling an injury, Oh’s ERA has never been above 2.73. The only troubling sign, is that 2.73 came last season. Critics of the trade will look at his last season and point to the fact that he regressed across the board.

But, it appears that he possibly just got worn out by seasons end as he had pitched in 127 games over last two seasons, which was the highest two-year total that he has thrown since he was in his early 20’s. Relievers can be some of the most volatile positions to predict, so with Oh’s track record and fact that his stuff has not appeared to have diminished any, I do think that he still has some productive years left.

His fantasy value will probably rest on whether or not he can secure a later inning role with the Cards. He is not going to unseat Trevor Rosenthal, and Kevin Siegrist looks to be the 8^th inning man. But since Siegrist is a lefty, but a true weapon against both righties and lefties nonetheless, the Cards may need someone to step in and secure the 7^th inning.

With right-handed options, Jordan Walden battling back from a shoulder problem, Jonathan Broxton being shaky at best, and Seth Maness coming back from a down season, Oh looks to have the opportunity to secure an important role as one the bullpen’s solid right-handed options.

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Oh’s career ratios give him the possibility to be a draftable RP, thanks to his K potential and solid peripherals. For those who play in leagues that reward Holds, Oh could be a nice late round flier this spring. For now, his situation is merely one to monitor but there is enough there to be intrigued. Keep an eye on him this spring.

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