Kosuke Fukudome of the Chunichi Dragons has been getting a fair amount of play as a potential impact outfielder should he cross the pond. Jackson compares him to Bob Abreu, with the caveats that Fukudome recently underwent elbow surgery and that some of his power could be lost in translation on moving to MLB (sometimes you get Hideki Matsui, sometimes you get Kazuo Matsui).

The pitching side is less clear. As Akinori Otsuka, Shingo Takatsu, Takashi Saito, and Hideki Okajima have shown in recent years, Japan can be a virtual gold mine in terms of finding good, cheap relievers. With all the fuss over someone like Daisuke Matsuzaka, this fact often gets overlooked.

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Anyway, the important thing is that Rich at Baseball Analysts has taken a nice look at this year’s contenders. The American League race is extremely tight (and who knew how good Hideki Okajima has been!), while a couple of right-handers out west are leading the pack in the National League.

What, no love for Adam Eaton or Jose Contreras?

Post from: Knuckle Curve