Honestly, if you only looked at the surface of the jung hoo lee stats from his first year in San Francisco, you’d probably think the Giants made a massive $113 million mistake. A .262 average? Just two home runs before his shoulder gave out? It wasn't exactly the "Ichiro 2.0" debut people were betting on.
But baseball is a game of tiny, invisible margins.
The 2024 season was a heartbreak. After just 37 games, Lee dislocated his shoulder crashing into the center-field wall at Oracle Park. Season over. Surgery by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. It was a brutal way to start a six-year deal. However, the 2025 season told a completely different story. Lee didn't just come back; he adjusted. He proved that his KBO "Grandson of the Wind" nickname wasn't just marketing fluff.
The 2025 Rebound: More Than Just Average
When Jung Hoo Lee returned for the 2025 season, the skeptics were loud. They pointed to his low exit velocity and his struggle with high heat in 2024. But Lee is a "student of the game" type. He showed up with a slightly wider stance—about 33 degrees open according to the analysts—and a much more aggressive approach at the plate.
He stopped waiting.
In 2024, his first-pitch swing rate was a timid 17%. By mid-2025, he was hacking at the first offering 26% of the time. He realized that MLB pitchers weren't going to give him the "respect" walks he got in Korea. He had to take his hits.
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By the end of the 2025 regular season, the jung hoo lee stats looked like a legitimate MLB leadoff hitter’s dream:
- Games Played: 150
- Batting Average: .266 (23rd in the National League)
- Hits: 149
- Doubles: 31 (ranking 17th in the NL)
- Triples: 12 (leading the league in speed-fueled extra bases)
- Home Runs: 8
- Stolen Bases: 10
He finished with a .734 OPS and a 1.7 WAR. Is he Shohei Ohtani? No. But he’s a guy who puts the ball in play when everyone else is striking out. His strikeout rate (K%) in 2025 stayed elite at 11.5%, which is essentially top-tier territory.
The KBO Legacy vs. MLB Reality
We have to talk about where he came from to understand why these numbers matter. In the KBO, Lee was a god. He hit .340 over seven seasons. He won the MVP in 2022 after hitting .349 with 23 homers. Moving from the KBO to MLB is like jumping from a treadmill at speed 6 to a treadmill at speed 11.
The velocity is different. The movement is nastier.
In Korea, Lee could wait for his pitch. In San Francisco, he found out quickly that the "strike zone" is more of a suggestion for some of these 101-mph-throwing relievers. His 2025 split against righties was solid (.276 average), but he still nibbles against lefties, hitting just .241. That’s the next hurdle.
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Why His Exit Velocity Matters (And Why It Doesn't)
People love to nerd out over Statcast. If you look at Lee's 2025 Baseball Savant page, it’s a sea of blue and red.
- Hard-Hit Rate: 32.0% (Blue - not great)
- Whiff Rate: 13.1% (Deep Red - elite)
- Expected Batting Average (xBA): .277 (Top 10% of the league)
Basically, Lee doesn't hit the ball "hard" in the traditional sense. He’s not Aaron Judge. His average exit velocity sits around 87-92 mph. But because he has such an incredible "Squared-Up" percentage (34.9%), he finds holes. He’s the king of the "calculated bloop" and the line drive that just clears the shortstop’s glove.
Defensive Value: The Hidden Stat
You can't talk about jung hoo lee stats without mentioning his glove. Oracle Park's center field is where fly balls go to die, or where outfielders go to get embarrassed. Lee recorded 1,275 innings in center in 2025. He only made three errors the entire year.
His arm is surprisingly spicy, too. Before his 2024 injury, he was clocked throwing 94.2 mph from the outfield. In 2025, he remained a top-10 defensive center fielder by most Range Factor metrics. He’s a "safe" fielder. He doesn't take many bad routes, and he uses that "Grandson of the Wind" speed to close gaps that most players his size (6'0") can't reach.
What’s Next for the Giants' Investment?
The contract is backloaded. Lee made $7 million in 2024 and $16 million in 2025. In 2026 and 2027, that jumps to $22 million per year. The Giants need him to keep evolving.
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If he can turn just 5% more of those ground balls into line drives, he’s a .300 hitter. He already has the elite eye—he saw 3.81 pitches per plate appearance in 2025, which is great for a leadoff man. The focus for 2026 will likely be his launch angle. In 2024, it was too low. In 2025, he got it up to a 13-degree average on some of his best hits, but consistency is the key.
He’s 27 years old now. He’s entering his physical prime. The shoulder is held together by anchors and sweat, but the 150 games he played in 2025 proved the durability is there.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're tracking Lee for fantasy or just following the Giants, look beyond the HR totals.
- Watch the 2nd-Pitch Swing Rate: If Lee stays aggressive, he’s dangerous. When he falls into "KBO mode" and takes too many strikes, his numbers dip.
- Monitor the Triples: He led the league with 12 in 2025. This is his unique "power." He turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples better than almost anyone in the NL.
- Check the Platoon Splits: Until he fixes the .241 average against left-handers, he’ll struggle to reach that All-Star ceiling.
Jung Hoo Lee isn't going to lead the league in home runs, and he might never win an MLB batting title like he did in Korea. But he’s proven he belongs. He’s a high-floor, high-IQ player who has stabilized a Giants outfield that was a mess for years. The "Grandson of the Wind" is finally catching a breeze in the Bay.
Keep an eye on his "In-Zone Swing Rate" early in the 2026 season. If that number stays above 65%, expect another 150-hit season.