Kei Igawa
Age: 27 Years Old (Turns 28 in July).

Japanese League History.

SEASON Team G CG GS W L IP H HR BB K R ER ERA
2001 HT 29 3 25 9 13 192 174 11 89 171 76 57 2.67
2002 HT 31 8 21 14 9 209 163 15 53 206 63 58 2.49
2003 HT 29 8 21 20 5 206 184 15 58 179 72 64 2.80
2004 HT 29 6 23 14 11 200 190 29 54 228 95 83 3.73
2005 HT 27 2 25 13 9 172 199 23 60 145 91 74 3.86
2006 HT 29 8 21 14 9 209 180 17 49 194 77 69 2.97

Outlook: Kei is probably the player that Yankees fans have the least expectations for...if only because no one knows right now what kind of pitcher he can be. I mean, at least Carl Pavano has some sort of track record in the majors so you can project somewhat. No one really knows how Igawa's stuff will translate from the Japanese leagues.

Well, what do we know at this point? Igawa was one of the best and most durable left-handed starters in Japan. His rep. seems to be that he has a average to below-average tailing fastball that sits in the high 80s and can be kicked up to the low 90s on occasion. His other pitches look to be what has been called a slider/curve/slurve in the high 70s and so far, has shown no issues with throwing off-speed stuff when behind hitters. He was scouted as having average command and plus control, though that has been hard to see this spring training. However, both Torre and Posada have actually commended Igawa’s pitches (though what else are they going to say?) but obviously, they need to the consistency of the pitches improve. A lot of people have mentioned that Kei seemed to be overthrowing sometimes so maybe he was trying to impress his teammates (hey, that would be only natural). Still, he is teachable and when Ron Guidry' advised him on how to better finish his delivery, he readily followed the instructions and it seems to have helped.

In any case, this assortment of pitches, despite his makeup and aggressiveness on the mound, does not make up a potential ace. Heck, Cashman himself said that Igawa would be making tons of adjustments in his first year so not to expect a ton (well, not in those exact words, he's quite a bit more eloquent than I am). So the first question will be; can he get out hitters consistently in the AL? At that point, depending on effectiveness of course, the question evolves into where Kei slots. Is he good enough to be an innings eater in rotation (is he a #3/#4/#5?) or will he end up in the pen as long-man and take Ron Villone's job? Considering Igawa's signed for the next five years ($26MM bid, $20 MM over 5 years), it will be interesting to find just what the Yankees have purchased because I don't think the Japanese league takes refunds (see Matsui, Kaz).

Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:

G GS Innings W L BB K ERA