Fukudome

[gerby23]

I am thrilled with his production. He is the Cubs best on-base hitter, their best baserunner, their best arm and has played great defense. All as a rookie.

 

I talked to a veteran MLB scout who said he is a "terrific player" who would hit 15-20 homers if they just asked him to. Of course, his on-base %/BA would decline and strike-outs increase.

 

We are really digging for something to complain about if we are bitching about this guy.

 

I don't see how his OBP would decline if he hit 15-20 homers.

 

If his approach is patient line-drive hitting, attempting to hit more home runs would change that approach. It's not some for-certain thing, but it seems reasonable.

 

Hasn't Ichiro also said the same thing...that he could hit for more homers but he'd overall be a less productive hitter. I believe he's put on quite some shows in BP. Guys with superb bat control and pitch recognition (not talking about race at all) like Ichiro and Fukudome probably could hit for more homers at will by lofting the ball more and swinging at pitches they could elevate. But fly balls are turned into outs much much more than liners and grounders and by having to be either more or less selective (based on what the pitcher is throwing them), there would definitely be an impact on OBP, as well as other stats.

 

Looked for the quote, couldn't find it, but I recall a Ghost of Mariner Past (Buhner maybe?) saying that Edgar Martinez and Ichiro would go back and forth in BP and everyone else would watch in awe.

But the quote also alluded to what you were saying about approach, i.e. less productive, etc.

[Sosa21MVP]

Fukudome's overall offensive production looks just fine to me. :scratch:

[Derwood]

Kosuke has been quite good this year when looking at the total package.

 

It's interesting to wonder how Cubs fans think of him who don't look at the stats as much. On one hand, I'm sure many people share the thought that he should have hit for more power, so they underrate his OBP so far this year. On the other hand, the fact that he's been unbelievable with runners on base this year would have fans tend to overrate him. So it's hard to say.

 

BTW, those splits with nobody on and with runners on:

 

Nobody on: .261/.346/.337

Runners on: .360/.479/.547

 

it's amazing that his OPS is over 1.000 with runners on yet he still has just 17 RBI. It's not like the 1-4 guys aren't getting on either. He's not hitting HR, sure, but he's also just 4th on the team in doubles. He has 51 hits, 36 of which are singles.

[mcgoobs]

If Fukudome seems like a disappointment it would only be because the hype surrounding his arrival + his scorching hot start caused people to forget that Japanese players generally put up lower power numbers when they come to the MLB.

 

That said, no one should be upset with what Fukudome has contributed to the team so far. Runs created by Cubs this year:

 

Soto: 40

Ramirez: 37

Lee: 36

Fukudome: 32

De Rosa: 32

Soriano: 25

[Jehrico]

Kosuke's lack of RBIs is a little perplexing to me. The 2-3-4 hitters in front of him (usually Theriot, Lee, ARam) are collectively putting up an OBP close to .400 (Yikes! I didn't realize how far DLee's OBP had sunk, he's down to .359), and he's hitting for a solid average with runners on. Regardless of his power output, I'd expect more RBIs out of him, as it appears he should be getting ample opportunities. That said, I'd like to see a 1-2 of Theriot-Fukudome or Fukudome-Theriot.

[Fred Hornkohl]

Here's some intersting Fuku-splits to mull over..........

 

Fukudome           AB    R    H   2b   3b   HR  RBI   BB   SO     BA    OBP    SLG    OPS  BABIP  P/PA   RBI%
03/31 - 04/11      39    7   13    3    0    1    6    8    7  0.333  0.447  0.487  0.934  0.387  4.28  0.333
04/12 - 04/22      31    9   12    2    1    0    3    8    6  0.387  0.513  0.516  1.029  0.480  5.15  0.200
04/23 - 05/03      42    6   14    5    1    0    3    3    6  0.333  0.378  0.500  0.878  0.389  3.84  0.107
05/04 - 05/14      34    6    8    1    0    1    4    6    7  0.235  0.341  0.353  0.694  0.269  4.10  0.214
05/15 - 05/25      30    3    6    0    0    0    2    7    3  0.200  0.351  0.200  0.551  0.222  4.32  0.154

03/31 - 05/25     176   31   53   11    2    2   18   32   29  0.301  0.407  0.420  0.827  0.352  4.32  0.188

Home               89   24   35    7    1    2   13   20   15  0.393  0.505  0.562  1.066  0.458  4.46  0.268
Road               87    7   18    4    1    0    5   12   14  0.207  0.300  0.276  0.576  0.247  4.17  0.114

Day                89   16   32    7    1    2   12   17   17  0.360  0.462  0.528  0.990  0.429  4.14  0.238
Nite               87   15   21    4    1    0    6   15   12  0.241  0.350  0.310  0.660  0.280  4.50  0.140

vs Left            45    8   12    3    1    0    6   11    7  0.267  0.404  0.378  0.781  0.316  4.70  0.231
vs Right          131   23   41    8    1    2   12   21   22  0.313  0.408  0.435  0.843  0.364  4.18  0.169

bases empty        96   13   25    3    2    0    0   12   19  0.260  0.343  0.333  0.676  0.325  4.56  0.000
runners on         80   18   28    8    0    2   18   20   10  0.350  0.475  0.525  1.000  0.382  4.06  0.188
scoring pos        40   10   13    4    0    1   16   14    6  0.325  0.491  0.500  0.991  0.364  4.50  0.254

Pitch# 1           30    4   12    2    1    0    1    0    0  0.400  0.387  0.533  0.920  0.400  1.00  0.077
Pitch# 2           16    2    2    0    0    0    1    0    0  0.125  0.125  0.125  0.250  0.125  2.13  0.077
Pitch# 3           28    5    9    2    1    1    5    0    3  0.321  0.321  0.571  0.893  0.333  3.00  0.250
Pitch# 4           26    3    7    2    0    0    1   10    3  0.269  0.472  0.346  0.818  0.304  4.00  0.083
Pitch# 5           26    4    7    1    0    1    3    5    7  0.269  0.387  0.423  0.810  0.333  5.00  0.154
Pitch# 6           25    5    4    2    0    0    3    7    9  0.160  0.344  0.240  0.584  0.250  6.00  0.250
Pitch# 7           13    4    5    0    0    0    2    8    6  0.385  0.619  0.385  1.004  0.714  7.00  0.667
Pitch# 8            8    3    5    2    0    0    2    2    0  0.625  0.700  0.875  1.575  0.625  8.00  1.000
Pitch# 9            1    0    1    0    0    0    0    0    0  1.000  1.000  1.000  2.000  1.000  9.00  0.000
Pitch# 10           3    1    1    0    0    0    0    0    1  0.333  0.333  0.333  0.667  0.500 10.00  0.000

1st inning         13    2    1    1    0    0    2    3    2  0.077  0.250  0.154  0.404  0.091  4.00  0.100
2nd inning         29    5   11    3    1    0    0    2    6  0.379  0.419  0.552  0.971  0.478  4.32  0.000
3rd inning         15    5    6    1    0    0    1    1    0  0.400  0.438  0.467  0.904  0.400  3.63  0.143
4th inning         23    6    5    1    1    0    1    7    3  0.217  0.400  0.348  0.748  0.250  3.94  0.143
5th inning         16    2    5    1    0    0    1    5    4  0.313  0.476  0.375  0.851  0.417  5.00  0.125
6th inning         20    3    6    1    0    0    3    6    1  0.300  0.462  0.350  0.812  0.316  5.04  0.333
7th inning         14    4    8    3    0    1    6    3    1  0.571  0.611  1.000  1.611  0.583  3.78  1.000
8th inning         30    3    7    0    0    0    1    3    9  0.233  0.303  0.233  0.536  0.333  4.39  0.067
9th inning         10    1    2    0    0    1    3    0    2  0.200  0.200  0.500  0.700  0.143  4.00  0.250
10th inning         2    0    1    0    0    0    0    0    0  0.500  0.500  0.500  1.000  0.500  2.50  0.000
11th inning         2    0    1    0    0    0    0    0    1  0.500  0.500  0.500  1.000  1.000  7.50  0.000
12th inning         1    0    0    0    0    0    0    1    0  0.000  0.500  0.000  0.500  0.000  4.50  0.000
13th inning         0    0    0    0    0    0    0    1    0  0.000  1.000  0.000  1.000  0.000  5.00  0.000
14th inning         1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0  0.000  0.000  0.000  0.000  0.000  6.00  0.000

vs. starters      114   21   34    8    2    0    5   18   14  0.298  0.394  0.404  0.797  0.340  4.20  0.098
vs. relievers      62   10   19    3    0    2   13   14   15  0.306  0.429  0.452  0.880  0.378  4.53  0.324

season totals     176   31   53   11    2    2   18   32   29  0.301  0.407  0.420  0.827  0.352  4.32  0.188

[Brett]

As Fukudome's numbers settle back toward the .290/.380/.420 line, which was reasonably expected, and as Theriot's numbers continue to retreat, the case for Fukudome hitting 2nd will only get stronger.

[Sammy Sofa]

As Fukudome's numbers settle back toward the .290/.380/.420 line, which was reasonably expected, and as Theriot's numbers continue to retreat, the case for Fukudome hitting 2nd will only get stronger.

 

Which means Lou will make the switch at least a month after he should have...if at all.