I have received several e-mails about Kosuke Fukudome, and my opinion on him. Unfortunately I have absolutely no opinion on him. He could be good, or he could be mediocre. Now there is in-depth analysis at its best. As my buddy will say, “Capitan Obvious has entered the building!” So since I have no real opinion, here are some segments from other people (who are in the know), and what they wrote about the new Japanese Import.

Let’s first get the pronunciation of his name correct. It is Koh-skay * foo-koo-DOH-may

Jim Callis at Baseball America wrote this about Fukudome:

The departures of Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui meant that Fukudome was the best all-around player remaining in Japan. While he doesn’t have the same power as Matsui, he’s a comparable player and has better all-around tools. The 2006 Central League MVP and two-time batting champ has a strong arm and runs well enough to play center field in a pinch, though he profiles best as a right fielder who hits for average, draws walks and occasionally drives the ball out of the park with a smooth lefthanded swing.

The Cubs will play him in right and bat him near the top of the order, perhaps even in the leadoff spot.The biggest concern about Fukudome is his durability. He missed the second half of the 2007 season with bone chips in his throwing elbow and has been bothered by other minor injuries in recent years. Fukudome played third base as a teenager on Japan’s silver-medal winning 1996 Olympic team before taking his speed to the outfield. He has plenty of experience on the international stage. He also played for Japan’s 2004 Olympic team and was one of the stars of Japan’s World Baseball Classic squad, hitting a pinch-hit, two-run home run in the semifinals against Korea and a key two-run single against Cuba in the championship game.

Here are a few statements that Mike Plugh from Baseball Prospectus wrote about Fukudome:

• Fukudome is a rock in the middle of the lineup, batting .292 with a .440 OBP, recording 22 doubles and 13 home runs. Compared to recent years, the batting average is a bit down, a product of a mid-May slump, but the plate discipline is still there.
  
• Most important among his skills is his batting approach, which relies on patience and a level left-handed swing. At roughly 6’0” and 190 pounds, Fukudome isn’t a classic slugger. There is power in his bat, but it’s of the line-drive variety.
• His hands are quick and he handles the inside pitch very well. As I’ve watched Kosuke over the years, the few weaknesses I’ve noticed come against soft throwers, who like to go away, or down and away, against Fukudome. He’ll chase high and inside on occasion, but looks worst when flailing at an offspeed pitch tailing low and outside.
• On defense, Fukudome is a very good right fielder. His right arm is a gun, and has helped him to earn four Gold Gloves in Japan.
• Generally, he gets good reads off the bat and reacts quickly to get into solid, fundamental position to make a catch and throw. On those occasions when the spectacular is needed to prevent a run from scoring on a ball hit to the gap, I have seen Fukudome pull out a few plays from the Jim Edmonds book of diving catches.

Tim over at rotoauthority.com posted this a while ago:

• Stretching Silver’s projection (from PECOTA) to 550 ABs, we get .289-21-81-111-13. That’d make him maybe 5th round material. (Rate stats: .289/.401/.504).
• The Chone System, also very good, projects .283/.373/.465, weaker rate stats all around. Over 550 ABs they have him hitting 25 home runs despite the lower SLG projection.
  
• How about ZIPS? Mark them down for .293/.382/.460. That equates to .293-16-81-79-1, a much less impressive fantasy line. For some reason they don’t see him running much. He attempted 7 steals in 81 games last year, and 13 in 130 games the year before.
  
• The average projection is around .288 (ave) - 21 (HR) - 81 (R) - 95 (RBI) - 7 (SB). Solid, but nothing to go crazy about.

So I personally think that he will be a great pick around the 10th round if he is still there. He went 9th in our mock draft.