MLB New Import Tracker (Apr 5-13, 2009)

Welcome to the first installment of the 2009 MLB New Import Tracker, where we track the progress of each international signing at the major-league level throughout the season...

Kenshin Kawakami, SP—#11—Atlanta Braves
Birthplace: Tokushima, Japan
After winning his first (and only) start this week, Kenshin Kawakami is on pace to win 32 games. He drew an easy matchup with his first assignment, taking the hill against the Washington Nationals. He struck out eight, walked four, and allowed four runs in six innings to get the win.

He had a shaky first inning (blame those "It's my first game in America" nerves), when, after getting two quick outs, he walked the next two batters and gave up a run-scoring single to Nick Johnson. He also served up a two-run bomb to Ryan Zimmerman in the third. But in his last two innings of work he retired the side in order.

It's nice to see his career strikeout rate carry over (so far) in the U.S. (Of course, the Nationals' lineup is also chock-full of free-swingers.) But Kenshin's fastball was clocking in the low 90s, and he mixed this with a mid-80s slider and a changeup that registered at 67-68 mph. No sign so far of the shuuto.

His next start comes at home against Anibel Sanchez and the Florida Marlins.



Koji Uehara, SP—#19—Baltimore Orioles
Birthplace: Osaka, Japan
Like his fellow countryman Kenshin Kawakami, Koji Uehara is now on pace for 32 (or so) wins after besting the New York Yankees 7-5 in his MLB debut.

Uehara went five innings, allowing one run on five hits and a walk. There were some troubling signs, however. Not only did he fail to strike out a single batter, he coaxed only three groundballs (compared to 12 flyballs), which will not continue to be a recipe for success at Camden Yards. He's gonna have to keep the ball down...and find a way to miss a few bats.

Regardless, East Windup Chronicle liked what they saw while also acknowledging the danger signs I mentioned above. But his performance against the Yankees was exactly what fans of Japanese baseball have come to expect: pinpoint control, keeping hitters off-balance with a split-finger fastball and that fancy new changeup he learned in spring training.

Fans of the NBL were keeping an eye on this one, as Uehara faced-off against former Japanese star Chien-Ming Wang, as well as Hideki Matsui (otherwise known as "Godzilla"). Matsui went 0-for-3; Yang was pegged with the loss, his first on the road in his last nine tries, dating back to 2007.

Unfortunately, the matchups don't get any easier for Uehara: in his next two starts he'll face the Texas Rangers (in Arlington) and the Boston Red Sox (at Fenway). Let's hope he figures out how to keep the ball down before then...