The resurgence of Kosuke Fukudome

Cubs center fielder Kosuke Fukudome is quietly putting together a very solid year. As May is closing out tomorrow, his .311 batting average and .441 on-base percentage illustrate the rebound he is making from a horrible second half of 2008. Kosuke is hanging in better on pitches, getting plenty of walks, but most importantly he is driving the ball consistently. Fukudome is tied for second on the team in both doubles and home runs. This is all in stark contrast to the player that road his average down 100 points from May 1-Sept 30 last season to finish 2008 with a .257 average.

The Cubs brass was concerned enough about Kosuke’s ability to adjust to America and the Major Leagues, the season opened with him in a CF platoon with Reed Johnson and Milton Bradley signed to play his natural RF position. In fact, a case could be made that Fukudome’s struggles at the plate and his lack of adjustment to the league is what led to Mark DeRosa being sent packing. Hendry was so concerned about Kosuke’s lack of production, he couldn’t count on him as an everyday player. So he had to go get Bradley but needed to clear payroll to sign him and DeRosa was the odd man out. So I think it is fair to consider the choice was between Fukudome and DeRosa ”lost” in no small part due to his value in the market.

I’m glad to see Kosuke producing. This team needs his steady bat and superior defense. He is not the superstar player that broke in to MLB with a bang last spring, but so far in 2009, you really couldn’t have asked for more.

Share and enjoy:

Why Byrd over Reed? Jim Hendry went to the free agent market to get his center fielder for 2010. Marlon Byrd was signed this week to a 3-year contract...
DeRosa is no Six Million Dollar Man Today the San Francisco Giants made former Cub Mark DeRosa the six million dollar man – per year. I like DeRo plenty, but 6mil is...
Granderson Price Likely Too Steep for Cubs Well meaning Cubs fans are loudly advocating the team to dump Milton Bradley and move to acquire Curtis Granderson to play center field and lead...
Hendry Compares Notes With Other MLB GMs With the Ricketts family firmly in control, Cubs GM Jim Hendry is attending the annual GM meeting in Chicago. He has a lot on his...

May 30, 2009 Tags: Jim Hendry, Kosuke Fukudome, Mark DeRosa, Milton Bradley, photo, Reed Johnson Posted in: biz of baseball, lineup, observations, players, roster, stats