03/06: YB Community Projection: Hideki Matsui
Posted by: James
Hideki Matsui - Left Fielder
Age: 31 Years Old (Turns 32 in June).
Three-Year History and splits:
Outlook: After a big-time jump in power in 2004, a lot more of Hideki Matsui's fly balls stayed in the park in 2005 and his home-run total declined from 31 to 23. Still, Godzilla set career highs in batting average (.306), hits (192), doubles (45), triples (3), RBI (116) and total bases (312). Basically, Matsui "slumped" back down to a better version of his should-have-been Rookie-of-the-Year campaign in 2003.
There are definitely some question marks under the surface though. Matsui went through one heck of a hot streak from June 14th until the end of July, which accounted for all of but 10 of his home-runs. If you were to take that away, you are left with a surprisingly different and far more average player as Matusi's line after the all-star break was .289/.347/.458/.805, very similar to his 2003 numbers. The main difference between the years, and forgive me for being simplistic, lie in those power numbers and as it stands right now, his 2004 campaign and his hot streak in 2005 look like the outliers. Still the question remains; will Hideki swing for the fences again or be content to be a doubles machine? (SG also took a look at Matsui earlier this month.)
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
Age: 31 Years Old (Turns 32 in June).
Three-Year History and splits:
| SEASON | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 163 | 623 | 82 | 179 | 42 | 1 | 16 | 106 | 63 | 86 | 2 | 2 | .287 | .353 | .435 | .788 |
| 2004 | 162 | 584 | 109 | 174 | 34 | 2 | 31 | 108 | 88 | 103 | 3 | 0 | .298 | .390 | .522 | .912 |
| 2005 | 162 | 629 | 108 | 192 | 45 | 3 | 23 | 116 | 63 | 78 | 2 | 2 | .305 | .367 | .496 | .863 |
Outlook: After a big-time jump in power in 2004, a lot more of Hideki Matsui's fly balls stayed in the park in 2005 and his home-run total declined from 31 to 23. Still, Godzilla set career highs in batting average (.306), hits (192), doubles (45), triples (3), RBI (116) and total bases (312). Basically, Matsui "slumped" back down to a better version of his should-have-been Rookie-of-the-Year campaign in 2003.
There are definitely some question marks under the surface though. Matsui went through one heck of a hot streak from June 14th until the end of July, which accounted for all of but 10 of his home-runs. If you were to take that away, you are left with a surprisingly different and far more average player as Matusi's line after the all-star break was .289/.347/.458/.805, very similar to his 2003 numbers. The main difference between the years, and forgive me for being simplistic, lie in those power numbers and as it stands right now, his 2004 campaign and his hot streak in 2005 look like the outliers. Still the question remains; will Hideki swing for the fences again or be content to be a doubles machine? (SG also took a look at Matsui earlier this month.)
Please post your predictions for the following stat line in the comments section:
| AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|
Mike A. wrote:
Matsui's altered his swing a little bit since playing in Japan, it's a bit more level now. Despite losing some over-the-fence power, he's a line drive machine that is virtually slump proof.
He's the ideal guy for me to bat behind the rest of the thunder because he won't be an easy out and may be the most clutch hitter on the team.
Now will he be worth the $13M he's owed in 2009? He just might be, defense aside.