A month into NPB play, the leading hitters in both the Central and Pacific Leagues are former major leaguers playing in Japan for the first time. Here are some early numbers:
Central League - Hitting
Hector Luna: .402/.462/.624, 3 HR in 117 AB
Matt Murton: .362/.400/.474, 2 HR in 116 AB
Tony Blanco: .346/.423/.841, 16 HR in 107 AB
Jose Lopez: .324/.348/.595, 7 HR in 111 AB
Wladimir Balentien: .317/.447/ 783, 8 HR in 60 AB
Tsuyoshi Nishioka: .298/.367/.368, 0 HR in 114 AB
John Bowker: .296/.351/.662, 6 HR in 71 AB
Lastings Milledge: .246/.320/.368, 2 HR in 114 AB
Brooks Conrad: .180/.328/.280, 0 HR in 50 AB
Kosuke Fukudome: .162/.250/.288, 4 HR in 111 AB
Nyjer Morgan: .132/.250/.132, 0 HR in 38 AB
Luna, Murton and Blanco are the Central League’s top three hitters by average. Murton, who set a Central League record for hits in his NPB debut in 2010, seems to be on the way back up this year after a very disappointing 2012. ... Milledge, on the other hand, is struggling after ranking among the league leaders with a .300/.379/.485 line and 21 homers in his debut for Yakult last year. ... Fukudome ranks last among qualifiers in batting average in his return to Japan.
Central League - Pitching
Daniel Cabrera: 3-1, 1.09 ERA, 25/10 K/BB in 33 IP
Bryan Bullington: 2-1, 2.22 ERA, 27/6 K/BB in 44 2/3 IP
Brad Bergesen: 1-1, 4.43 ERA, 9/9 K/BB in 22 1/3 IP
Kam Mickolio: 1.35 ERA, 5 Sv, 7/5 K/BB in 13 1/3 IP
Scott Mathieson: 2.38 ERA, 7 Hd, 13/5 K/BB in 11 1/3 IP
Bullington, an MLB bust after being drafted first overall by the Pirates in 2002, made headlines for all of the wrong reasons the other day, intentionally plunking a hitter who had asked for time.
Pacific League - Hitting
Casey McGehee: .396/.476/.637, 5 HR in 91 AB
Esteban German: .367/.473/.411, 0 HR in 90 AB
Tadahito Iguchi: .318/.434/.466, 1 HR in 88 AB
Bryan LaHair: .314/.375/.598, 7 HR in 102 AB
Michel Abreu: .298/.359/.606, 9 HR in 94 AB
Andruw Jones: .247/.398/.416, 4 HR in 89 AB
Kaz Matsui: .244/.284/.400, 2 HR in 90 AB
Wily Mo Pena: .208/.279/.260, 0 HR in 77 AB
Ryan Spilborghs: .197/.271/.279, 1 HR in 61 AB
It can’t be great for baseball pride that no Japanese player is in the top three in hitting in either circuit right now. Sandwiched in between McGehee and German atop the Pacific League list is Korean superstar Dae-Ho Lee. ... Wily Mo is sporting an incredibly unusual line in 77 at-bats, suggesting that he’s battling some sort of injury. He hit .280 with 21 homers for Softbank last year.
Pacific League - Pitching
Brandon Dickson: 3-1, 2.18 ERA, 20/8 K/BB in 33 IP
Brandon Duckworth: 1-3, 4.71 ERA, 16/10 K/BB in 28 2/3 IP
Brian Falkenborg: 0.75 ERA, 6 Sv, 12/1 K/BB in 12 IP
Dennis Sarfate: 0.00 ERA, 2 Hd, 6/6 K/BB in 9 1/3 IP
Vicente Padilla: 5.40 ERA, 2/4 K/BB in 5 IP
Padilla, after Andruw Jones probably Japan’s most notable import over the winter, has been dealing with forearm soreness, but he’s back pitching for Softbank now.