So, how long to wait on Fukudome?

[CubsFan7724]

He had an awesome April last year and got steadily worse. No one really touched this guy in anything but deep leagues this year, but he's actually looked really good in this first week. He is batting 2nd behind Soriano and ahead of Lee/Bradley/Ramirez, and he's a good OBP guy even when he was batting .200. How long until it's not just a hot streak, and he's just performing what we thought he was supposed to do?

[AussieDodger]

He faded in the second half last year.

Allegedly the schedule/travelling etc gets to Japanese imports in their debut year.
Hideki Matsui had a crappy 2nd half in his 1st year too.

I got him in both drafts I was in, he's a really good post hype sleeper - remembering how he was the buzz rookie for a while at the start of last year.

[CubsFan7724]

He faded in the second half last year.

Allegedly the schedule/travelling etc gets to Japanese imports in their debut year.
Hideki Matsui had a crappy 2nd half in his 1st year too.

I got him in both drafts I was in, he's a really good post hype sleeper - remembering how he was the buzz rookie for a while at the start of last year.

I'm well aware of him fading: I had to sit through it for most of the 2nd half and postseason

Is this more April smoke and mirrors, or has he put it together? He looked bad in the WBC and worse in spring training.

[AussieDodger]

Is this more April smoke and mirrors, or has he put it together? He looked bad in the WBC and worse in spring training.

It's way too early to tell anything yet.
All we can deduce so far is that he is healthy.

[foeplay]

I'm getting impatient on not picking him up and dropping Swisher since he's heading back towards his old self. Anyone taking a chance on him or think he's going to hit a wall again?

[keeks137]

Being that your a Cubs fan, I doubt I'll be telling you anything new here.

On top of adjusting to the country/league last year, I think MLB pitching just learned how to pitch him and that contributed to his slump.

But what now? I'm sure MLB hasn't forgotten how to pitch him. I will say this in favor of Fukudome. He looked progressively more awkward as the year wore on last year. I think he looks 10 times better at the plate starting the season this year.

Another thing an announcer pointed out (can't remember if it was ESPN or MLB), is that you can tell he's swinging for more power. Last year he was just trying to wave his bat and produce singles. It could be due to him being more comfortable, and thus he could bolster your power fantasy stats. It could be that because he's swinging for more power, that this is the cause of his better start and better average. Regardless of the cause-effect here, I'm much more optimistic about this start vs. last year's start because the league has had their shot at adjusting now.