KND Report: AL Central

April 6, 10:47 PMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

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This is the Kanji for "Kattobase Nihonjin Dairiigaa,"
which means "Let's go Japanese major leaguers!"

Welcome to the second day of my Kattobase Nihonjin Dairiigaa Report (KNB Report, for short), a roundup of the exploits of Asian major-leaguers.

"Kattobase Nihonjin Dairiigaa" means “Let’s go Japanese major leaguers!” and the translation comes courtesy of Steven P. Venti of BHK Limited http://www.bhk-limited.com.

Steve suggested this phrase, drawn from the traditional Japanese baseball cheer, “Kattobase Dairigaa!” which literally translates as “Send the ball flying!”

The batter’s name usually comes after the “Kattobase,” so we added “Nihonjin,” which means “Japanese major leaguers.”

In spite of the Japanese roots of the phrase, my KNB report will cover all Asian players, including Asian-Americans and those hailing from countries like Samoa, India, China, Taiwan, or Korea.

Today, I'll be covering the AL Central, with major-leaguers and significant minor leaguers.

Chicago White Sox

When Cleveland cut journeyman pitcher Tomokazu (Tomo) Ohka loose in spring training, the White Sox quickly signed him to a minor-league deal. Ohka has been an average pitcher since first appearing with the Boston Red Sox in 1999 as a fresh-faced 23-year-old. 

His career line is 50-63, with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP, numbers perhaps a tick above the league norm. His best year was 2002 with the Montreal Expos (yes, kiddies, that's what they called the Washington Nationals when they played north of the border). That year, he put up a 13-8 record with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and 118 Ks against 45 BBs in 192 IP.

That's pretty typical for Ohka, who does best when he keeps the ball in the yard—as a flyball pitcher, that's something he may have trouble with in Chicago's US Cellular Field (AKA "The Cell") which is a good home-run park. Of course, to get there, he's going to have to show he's still got something with the AAA Charlotte Knights, where he'll start the season.

Frankly, if Ohka does come up as a starter, that likely won't be a good sign for White Sox fans, though he might make a serviceable long reliever.

Cleveland Indians

Fans of the World Baseball Classic will remember when South Korea's team was concerned they might not have Shin-soo Choo, the Indians' slugging outfielder. A year removed from Tommy John surgery, Choo was feeling some elbow pain in his right elbow, and Cleveland didn't want him to risk further injury in the WBC.

In a story you read here a full 12 hours before any other media outlets, Choo was allowed to play, so long as he only played in the outfield on a limited basis. As it turned out, Choo's bat didn't wake up until the final two games, when he launched home runs in consecutive games, and Korea took second place in the tournament.

Choo offers his team more than just power. He's an able defender in right and improved his batting eye last year, when he broke out in his first full season after a trade brought him over from Seattle. His minor league stats support moderate power and a good eye, though it's unlikely he'll repeat his .309/.397/.549 line from 2008. Still, he's the best they've had in right for some time, and he's got lineup protection, so he should put up good numbers this year.

When Cleveland brought Masa Kobayashi from Japan last season, they were hoping he'd bolster their bullpen and maybe step in as closer when Joe Borowski imploded, something seen as inevitable. They were right about half of that equation—Borowski would be gone from the team by the All-Star Break—but Kobayashi never showed the closing style that had made him one of Japan's top firemen with 227 career saves (one of only three closers ever to do so in NPB history).

He did manage two quick saves in May, blew one two days later after giving up a walk-off three-run shot to Adam Dunn. He blew another against Detroit, picked up three more in June and July, and then the wheels came off. He gave up runs in the three outings following that sixth save, blew another chance in August, then only made three appearances in September.

Brian makes some interesting points on his blog about Masa here, mostly writing his late-season slide to fatigue, but the bottom line is that Kobayashi's in his final year of his contract, and unless he wants to retire from MLB, too, he'd better turn things around. Cleveland isn't counting on him to close the door at the end of games, but they could use him giving at least league-average innings out of the bullpen.

Detroit Tigers

If you know anything about Detroit, you know that they've had real problems at the closer position, too. And if you know anything about Asian ballplayers, you know that they've had problems signing them, probably because of lack of Far East scouting.

That all might change with the signing of Fu-Te Ni, a Taiwanese lefty reliever who became the first player from the Chinese major leagues to sign with an MLB team. Detroit says that he won't be a closer, and lefties only rarely occupy that endgame spot on an MLB team, but with a team that's had so many problems with that position, like Detroit, anything's possible.

Before they make that decision, Detroit will see how he does with their AAA Toledo Mud Hens affiliate, where he'll start 2009. This guy is one to watch, regardless of where he ends up in the bullpen.

Kansas City

The Ryals first started looking East when they hired their manager last year, taking Trey Hillman from the Nippon Ham Fighters, where he'd brought the team from back-to-back Pacific League titles (including a Japan Series championship in 2006).

Since these were the only PL titles the team had won in 31 years, Kansas City figured he could work the same magic with their perennial cellar-dwellers. And, while Kansas City hasn't been tearing up the AL Central, they are certainly a team to watch in the future. If Hillman—my pick for AL Manager of the Year on Baseball Daily Digest—can help them do this, it might mean more managers make the move from Japan to MLB.

If they get better, it might be with help from Kila Ka’aihue, their current first baseman from the AAA Omaha Royals. He flew through AA and AAA last year, suddenly flashing power he'd never shown before. He and his brother Kala are one of the few Hawaiian MLB players now (or ever) and certainly one of the only Hawaiian brothers in pro baseball.

Kansas City has Mike Jacobs at first base and Billy Butler at DH, so Kila will have to wait with Omaha unless (or until) either one falters. He's 25, so he's got a little time, but not much.

The Royals' other venture into Asian markets was Yasuhiko Yabuta, a veteran starter for the Chiba Lotte Marines, who signed with them as a free agent before the 2008 season. Yabuta was part of the YFK trio at the back end of the Marines pen, with Masa Kobayashi and Yoshuhisa Naruse, but he didn't impress in Kansas City.

His fastball lacked life, and his ERA tickled 5, with a 4.78 ERA against a 1.54 WHIP, and they bumped him down to AAA to see if he'd do any better there. But minor-leaguers weren't fooled, either, as he went 4-3 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He'll stay with Omaha in 2009 and see if he can do any better this year.

Minnesota Twins

You don't think of Asian players when you think of Minnesota, even though Asian-Americans outnumbered African-Americans in St. Paul in the last census, making them the largest minority population in the city. So Minnesota is finally getting on the Eastern bandwagon, though we won't see any of their products anytime soon.

Both DH Wang-Wei Lin (from Taiwan) and catcher Jae-hyun Jang (from South Korea) are both spent 2008 in the Rookie League GCL Twins. No word yet on where they might spend this season, so look for the Twins to break the barrier in 2010 or later.