Kosuke Fukudome is for real

[OleMissCub]

So far he is 8-16, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 Runs, 1 stolen base, 4 walks

He has to all fields, hit deep ones, laid down bunts for hits, ran the bases smartly, and taken pitchers to full counts 5 times.

He's certainly not the second coming of Ichiro, but he's pretty solid so far.

[SamtheBravesFan]

Well, lets see what happens as the season goes on and if people figure out how to pitch to him. Kudos to what he has done so far, though.

[Old Sweater]

16 AB's????????


Isn't that easy.

[blacksilverfan12]

So far he is 8-16, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 Runs, 1 stolen base, 4 walks

He has to all fields, hit deep ones, laid down bunts for hits, ran the bases smartly, and taken pitchers to full counts 5 times.

He's certainly not the second coming of Ichiro, but he's pretty solid so far.

Just remember the season's not even a week old

[Mattingly]

Shouldn't we wait until at least the All-Star break? Nice graphic included in the original post here, but a very small sample size.

[bob]

He's had a good opening week, but really its far to early to tell how he's doing. A single bad game would drop his stats way down right now.

[brewcrew82]

Akinori Iwamura started off last season hot too, but pitchers eventually caught up to him and finished the season without eye popping numbers.

He may turn out to be a very good player but lets wait for the season to be more than a week old before we start claiming someone as being 'for real".

[rockin500]

he's going to be a solid player, and his patience certainly should translate to american baseball. What I'd like to see is how his bat translates here.

Let's wait a few more weeks before making any proclaimations he's for real. I'll gladly take the hot start, but thats all it is right now

[OleMissCub]

Look I'm not saying he's "AWESOME! AND ICHIRO-LITE!!!!!" after just a week. Please.

What I'm saying is that as someone who has watched every Cubs game so far this year, Fukudome looks like the real deal. He shows extreme patience at the plate and excellent knowledge of the game and certain situations. I am MOST impressed with him.

[blacksilverfan12]

Look I'm not saying he's "AWESOME! AND ICHIRO-LITE!!!!!" after just a week. Please.

What I'm saying is that as someone who has watched every Cubs game so far this year, Fukudome looks like the real deal. He shows extreme patience at the plate and excellent knowledge of the game and certain situations. I am MOST impressed with him.

Yeah. He'll be pretty good. Obviously he won't bat .500 the whole season. But he does look like he's for real

[Mattingly]

Look I'm not saying he's "AWESOME! AND ICHIRO-LITE!!!!!" after just a week. Please.

What I'm saying is that as someone who has watched every Cubs game so far this year, Fukudome looks like the real deal. He shows extreme patience at the plate and excellent knowledge of the game and certain situations. I am MOST impressed with him.

I have thus volunteered you to post the equivalent of Dave Letterman's Top 10.

What are the Top 10 reasons why "Kosuke Fukudome is for real"? What has he done that makes him such a good ballplayer? Patience at the plate, does he foul off pitches, does he put on a hitting clinic out there? Does he hit to all sides of the field? How's his fielding and baserunning? What makes him such a well-rounded player that makes you say this?

If not a "Top 10", then just please describe for those who have never seen him hit.

rockin500, same goes for you!

[Mattingly]

Akinori Iwamura started off last season hot too, but pitchers eventually caught up to him and finished the season without eye popping numbers.

He may turn out to be a very good player but lets wait for the season to be more than a week old before we start claiming someone as being 'for real".

The TB 3Bman (who now plays 2B) actually had an OPS about .280 higher and a BA about .160 higher in May than April in 2007:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=28632&type=batting&year=2007

I'm not sure how highly rated Iwamura was, but Fukudome was likely the top Japanese FA position player.

[Blackout]

The TB 3Bman (who now plays 2B) actually had an OPS about .280 higher and a BA about .160 higher in May than April in 2007:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=28632&type=batting&year=2007

I'm not sure how highly rated Iwamura was, but Fukudome was likely the top Japanese FA position player.

he had 10 At Bats in May LOL

[OleMissCub]

I have thus volunteered you to post the equivalent of Dave Letterman's Top 10.

What are the Top 10 reasons why "Kosuke Fukudome is for real"? What has he done that makes him such a good ballplayer? Patience at the plate, does he foul off pitches, does he put on a hitting clinic out there? Does he hit to all sides of the field? How's his fielding and baserunning? What makes him such a well-rounded player that makes you say this?

If not a "Top 10", then just please describe for those who have never seen him hit.

rockin500, same goes for you!

10. 6 of his 24 AB's so far have gone to 3-2 counts.
9. He has 7 walks in 7 games.
8. He has a cannon for an arm and has stopped several men from advancing.*
7. He has a tremendous amount of range in right field.
6. He dropped one of the nicest bunt singles I've ever seen
5. Has scored several runs solely because of his great speed.
4. Hits to all fields. Has 3 hits to right field, 4 hits to center field, 3 hits to left field, and one infield hit.
3. Stolen two bases easily already.
2. He hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game up.
1. He's not named Cliff Floyd.


*Proof of his arm here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EWfxRT5qo

[Windy City Fan]

His hot start is obviously impressive, but as others have said there are things behind the gaudy numbers that are leading people to think he's "for real".

His patience at the plate has been outstanding. He's averaging 4.13 pitches/PA. He's shown good command of the strike zone. He's shown good baseball IQ and fundementals. One great example is the absolutely beautiful bunt he dropped on the Astros a few days ago. The third baseman, the pitcher, and catcher were all just staring at each other wondering who was gonna play it. Fukudome made it to first without a throw and Lee advanced to third as well on the play. Lastly, Fukudome has been impressive in baserunning and fielding - skills that tend to be less streaky than hitting.

His bat will definately cool down and I'm not bold enough to make any predictions at gaudy numbers, but I think its safe to say he'll be a productive player.