Rays 2009 player preview: Akinori Iwamura

January 23, 12:12 PMTampa Bay Rays ExaminerRob Quinn

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Tampa Bay Rays Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

With two successful seasons under his belt, Akinori Iwamura is looking to take his game up a notch in 2009. Aki became the Rays’ leadoff hitter on June 8, 2007 and has held on to the role ever since. Iwamura isn’t flashy like his Japanese counterpart Ichiro, but consistently gets his job done both on the field and at the plate, making him a great guy to have on the team.  Iwamura started the mohawk craze last year, which was obviously a huge hit with the fans.

Iwamura made the position change from third base to second base for the 2008 season. The move was made mainly to accommodate the arrival of rookie sensation Evan Longoria. The switch worked out quite well for Iwamura, though, as he finished the season with only seven errors and was a contender for the Gold Glove – won by Boston’s Dustin Pedroia. Maybe, with a season at second under his belt, Aki can take his defense to yet another level and win that Gold Glove.

At the plate, Iwamura is not your prototypical leadoff hitter. He struck out 131 times last year. Among leadoff hitters, only Carlos Gomez of the Twins and Chris Young of the Diamondbacks struck out more and both of those guys were moved out of the leadoff spot before the end of the season by their teams. Iwamura should flourish in the leadoff role if he can focus on making more contact. He posted a batting average of .339 when putting the ball in play – one of the better marks in the league. The strikeouts just put such a huge dent in his numbers.

Iwamura’s stolen base totals and on-base percentage are not those of the traditional great leadoff hitters. Iwamura has only 20 career steals in two seasons and he’s been caught 14 times – not a good ratio. His 2008 OBP was decent at .349, but he should aim to raise that number closer to the .370 - .380 range. The Rays obviously aren’t expecting him to be Rickey Henderson and Iwamura will turn 30 in a couple of weeks so it is unrealistic to expect him to suddenly achieve drastic improvements. Still, an increase of 20 OBP points can be done.

One thing the Rays absolutely love about Aki is his success against the rival Red Sox. Iwamura has a career .318 average against Josh Beckett, .417 against Tim Wakefield, and .375 against Dice-K. If he keeps hitting like that against Boston, he can play for the Rays for the rest of his life.

My 2009 prediction: .288 AVG, 192 H, 8 HR, 51 RBI, 101 RS, 9 SB, .371 OBP

I’ve already set the bar for Iwamura at 100 runs scored for the 2009 season. All he has to do is focus on getting on base – the middle of the Rays order should get him home more often than not.

Akinori Iwamura on baseball reference

Akinori Iwamura on retrosheet

Akinori Iwamura on FanGraphs

Tampa Bay Sports Examiner Ted Fleming has info on B.J. Upton's golf tournament and the Rays' promotional schedule

Comment on my prediction for the Rays' second baseman or e-mail me at raysexaminer@live.com