Asian MLB KND Report: Week 2

April 24, 1:37 AMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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Welcome to the second week of the KND report, with a new logo courtesy of the incomparable April White.

"KND" stands for Kattobase Nihonjin Dairiigaa, loosely translated as "Let's go Japanese baseball players!"

In this second week's report, I'm taking a look at the start of the top Asian hitters.

Ichiro Suzuki was out for the first nine games of the season with a bleeding ulcer, but returned to the lineup with a bang, knocking a grand slam in the seventh inning of his season debut. Tonight, he hit his second homer of the season, a leadoff solo shot that represented the only run of the entire game.

He needed the boost to his stats, since in between those two longballs, he's hitting .250/.250/.292. That's only a six-game sample size, but after his weak World Baseball Classic (WBC) showing, Mariners fans are hoping to see him turn things around soon.

His teammate Kenji Johjima, on the other hand, hit very well at the WBC, but only got into seven games this year before coming up lame with a strained hamstring in Ichiro's first game back. The injury is relatively minor as far as hamstrings go, so he should be back soon.

Johjima spent the offseason working out to try and turn around his skidding performance in the past three seasons. Before landing on the DL, he was only hitting 6-24, with a straight .250/.250/.250—six singles. He, too, needs to get some more oomph in his lumber.

Kosuke Fukudome is someone else looking for a turnaround. After a hot start last year, he fell apart in the second half and rode the pine down the stretch.

Speculation abounds as to the reason for the skid, and the Cubs did all they could to try and address them all, including inviting Japanese players So Taguchi and Ken Kadokura to spring training to make him more comfortable to hedging their bets by signing Milton Bradley, pushing Fukudome into a platoon with Reed Johnson.

Fukudome has been hot to start this year, too, and is hitting .348/.475//674 through last night's games, with hits in all but three of the games where he's had a plate appearance. That's kept him on the field for nearly all of the Cubs games (platoon? he don't need no stinkin' platoon!), and he'll continue to see more time with Bradley on the shelf with a groin strain.

He'll certainly have the chance to prove that last year's slump was just a first-year fluke.

Unlike Fukudome, Hideki Matsui has proven himself in MLB, but his knee problems took him out of the lineup for most of the season last year, and put him under the knife in the offseason. That's forced him into a DH role, a new position for him, and some players take a while to adjust to what is, essentially, a part-time role.

Matsui has been no exception to that rule, as he was 4-27 in his first nine games. Since then, however, he's gotten hot, 7 for his next 24 in the next six games, for a line of .412/.583/.706. Both are small sample spaces, but the turnaround is a good sign, and Asian sports fans are hoping the improvement continues.

Aki Iwamura brought his team all the way to the World Series as the leadoff hitter for the Tampa Bay Rays, then served as the ninth-place hitter for Team Japan in the WBC. This year for the Rays, he's hit at both ends of the order, and has started out strong. He's .294/.379/.412 through the first fifteen games, mostly in the eighth and ninth spots; BJ Upton has been the team's leadoff hitter lately.

Iwamura is an asset both offensively and defensively, and as the ninth hitter, he can serve as a kind of secondary leadoff hitter, just as he did in the WBC, when he outhit the team's real leadoff hitter, Ichiro. Fans of the Rays and Asian baseball will continue to enjoy watching Iwamura on offense and defense.

Shin-soo Choo is the most prominent Korean player in MLB after exploding onto the scene last year as the starting right fielder for the Cleveland Indians. He gave them plenty of pop, ending with a .309/.397/.549 line, and cementing his spot in the lineup this year.

After a WBC that was highlighted by two straight home runs in the final two games, Choo has carried over that performance to the regular season. He's knocked in 8 RBI with 3 HRs and two doubles, mostly out of the six spot in the order. That gives him a .265/.413//490 batting line, and the 11 BBs against 9 Ks bodes well for his batting eye. Look for him to equal or better last year's numbers in 2009.

Keep reading the Asian-American Sports Examiner all season for updates and highlights from all these players!