U.S. media exclaims it's too rare: Hyeseong Kim, currently in Triple-A, ranks high in All-Star voting

Hyeseong Kim, a Korean infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is still biding his time in Triple-A for a comeback to the big leagues, but he has surprisingly become a talking point in the All-Star voting. The second phase of results from MLB shows that he garnered 659,500 votes in the NL second base race, securing the fourth spot and emerging as one of the most unexpected figures in this year's election.

U.S. media outlet ClutchPoints directly headlined "Dodgers Triple-A player ranks fourth in All-Star second base voting," stating that such an outcome is extremely rare, even calling it "an unprecedented voting phenomenon in baseball."

The 27-year-old Kim began this season in Triple-A and was called up to the Majors in April after Mookie Bett entered the injured list. In 43 games, he posted a .259 batting average, along with one home run, 11 RBIs, and five stolen bases, with an OPS of .651. However, after a slump in May, he was sent back down and is currently working on his game in Triple-A, awaiting another chance to return to the Majors.

Even though it has been a while since he last played in the Major Leagues, Kim's popularity hasn't faded at all. In the second phase of All-Star voting, he has consistently ranked fourth among NL second basemen for two consecutive rounds.

ClutchPoints analyzed that Kim had already built a significant reputation during his time in the KBO, and combined with the massive global fan base of the Dodgers, his visibility and support have remained strong. Even though he is currently in Triple-A, his vote count can still stay at a high level.

The report also acknowledged that whether Kim can return to the Major Leagues remains uncertain. However, the fact that a player still grinding in Triple-A can rank so high in the All-Star voting is already magical enough, making it one of the most jaw-dropping phenomena of this year's ballot.