Baseball fans, especially those die-hards in Chicago, must have noticed the explosive beginning to the season for new Cubs right fielder Kosuke Fukudome.  As of April 8th, Fukudome (pronounced foo-koo-doh-may) is hitting .458 with a homer and 6 RBI.  He’s stolen 2 bags and walked 7 times.  After an abysmal spring, expectations were low for the Japanese rookie, but for those who have seen what Fukudome could do in Japan, his fast start should be an indication of great things to come this season.

So who is Kosuke Fukudome?

Fukudome is a soon-to-be 31 year old former outfielder for the Chunichi Dragons of Japanese Professional Baseball’s Central League division.  The Dragons are the home squad for the city of Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, west of Tokyo.  A first round pick in the 1998 amateur draft, Fukudome played seven seasons with Chunichi, compiling a .305 career average, 192 home runs and 647 RBI.  In 2006, he won the Central League MVP award and he was a part of last year’s team that won the Japan Series, taking the 4 game series from the defending champion Nippon Ham Fighters.  He also was a member of the champion Japan national team in the first World Baseball Classic.

Fukudome has a chance to become a major cog in both the offense and defense of the Chicago Cubs.  In addition to being a consistent contact hitter and a threat on the basepaths, Fukudome has an outstanding eye at the plate.  In 3,852 career at bats in Japan, he walked 571 times and his career OBP was .397.  He is patient, methodical and unselfish, willing to sacrifice or bunt should need be.

Defensively, Fukudome was an outstanding outfielder, compiling a .990 fielding percentage in Japan.  Interestingly, he was originally an infielder, able to play mostly shortstop and third base but was moved to the outfield.  The Cubs will rely on him to to use his range to patrol a spacious right field at Wrigley and his strong arm to get a few put-outs at the plate.

The question with Fukudome lies only in his ability at the Major League level.  He has shown he can hit and field already, but can he be consistent beyond the first week of the season? Akinori Iwamura of the Tampa Bay Rays had a similar start last year and turned many heads with his stellar offense and speed.  But injuries and a struggle to remain consistent with major league pitching suggested his stellar start to be nothing more than a fluke.

Still, Fukudome has the skills to succeed within all of Major League Baseball.  Whether he keeps it up or not, only time will tell.  For now though, he is the hottest hitter in baseball.

Source of all statistics and draft information: http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=1064&Year=2007&Part=1