Padres' surprising 'best player' keeps getting better

The San Diego Padres are 55-58 and on the fringe of the playoff picture, but they are beneficiaries of infielder Ha-Seong Kim's breakout season. 

In a 13-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, the South Korean extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 2-for-5 performance.  

Last week, teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. called Kim the "best player" on the team. The Athletic's Gene McCaffrey also noticed Kim's production, recently putting him as the headliner of his column on this season's surprising hitters. 

Kim is third in MLB in bWAR (5.6), a stat that measures a player's overall value based on all facets of his game. This is the best offensive season of Kim's young career. He's also playing platinum-glove level defense. As the temperatures have warmed, so has Kim's bat. 

KIM'S MONTHLY STATS: 

March/April (27 games): .209/.299/.326, 6 XBH (2 HR), 6 RBI, .625 OPS 

May (24 games): .276/.374/.434, 6 XBH (3 HR), 12 RBI, .808 OPS 

June (27 games): .291/.367/.477, 8 XBH (4 HR), 12 RBI, .884 OPS 

July (24 games): .337/.449/.551, 9 XBH (5 HR), 9 RBI, .999 OPS 

August (6 games): .417/.517/.542, 1 XBH (1 HR), 2 RBI, 1.059 OPS 

All told, Kim has put together a .288/.384/.454 slash with 15 home runs, 41 RBI and 24 stolen bases. In 108 games, he's already set career highs in homers and steals.

Adding to his value is the fact that he has played over 100 innings at both shortstop and third base. That's on top of play at his primary spot, second base, where he has played nearly 600 innings in 2023. 

2024 is the final guaranteed year on Kim's contract, making him an early candidate to be at the top of the trade market in the offseason and into the trade deadline next season. Trading Kim would net the Padres a decent prospect haul, especially if he can maintain or improve upon his current production. 

With that in mind, fans of teams needing a versatile infielder looking to contend in 2024 should keep a close eye on the Padres and Kim.