KBO: Three former Giants players to watch right now with MLB on hold

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Baseball is back.

It might not have been the Opening Day that MLB fans expected, but baseball fans everywhere stayed up into the late Monday night hours and into early Tuesday morning to watch the Korea Baseball Organization, the highest level of baseball in South Korea. 

With ESPN broadcasting KBO games, fans can get their baseball fix back. That includes watching three former Giants players, too. 

They aren't household names in San Francisco and certainly didn't have long careers for the Giants. However, these three certainly are Forever Giants. In reality, they fit the moniker/internet joke perfectly.

Casey Kelly, RHP, LG Twins

The former top prospect never panned out in the majors. He twice was named the San Diego Padres No. 1 prospect by Baseball America and once was as high as No. 2 for the Boston Red Sox.

But Kelly, now 30 years old, has just a 2-11 record with a 5.14 ERA in 26 big league appearances. His most success, though, came with the Giants two years ago. 

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The Giants signed Kelly to a minor league contract in February 2018. After going 10-9 for Triple-A Sacramento, Kelly appeared in seven games for San Francisco. He went 0-3 with only a 3.04 ERA over three starts and four relief appearances.

Kelly now is the ace of the LG Twins. The veteran right-hander made his KBO debut last season where he had a 14-12 record and 2.55 ERA. 

Jae-gyun Hwang, 3B, KT Wiz

The Giants signed the power-hitting infielder to a minor league deal before the 2017 season after he hit 27 homers for the Lotte Giants the year before. Hwang didn't find as much success for the San Francisco Giants.

Hwang hit .285 with 10 homers in Triple-A Sacramento before making his MLB debut. He only lasted 18 games in the bigs, where he hit .154 with one long ball and five RBI.

After his short stint in San Francisco, Hwang signed with the KT Wiz in the KBO. He's hit 25 and 20 homers in the last two seasons, respectively.

Aaron Altherr, OF, NC Dinos

Ahh, the legend of Aaron Altherr. Like Kelly, he too was a former top prospect who didn't find much success in the big leagues. The power-hitting outfielder twice ranked among the Philadelphia Phillies' top 10 prospects. 

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Altherr had a lowly .219 career batting average with 37 home runs before signing with the Dinos. He was their No. 2 hitter on Opening Day and twice flied out to the warning track. 

We'll never forget his Giants career, though. After being selected off waivers from the Phillies last season, here's his final stat line in San Francisco: One game, one at-bat, one strikeout. 

Forever Giant.

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