Rule 5 Draft: Erik Komatsu
Posted on December 27th, 2011 by azruavatar in Rule 5 Draft, tags: Cardinals, Erik Komatsu, Rule 5 DraftThere’s not much to be found about Erik Komatsu, the former Nationals’ outfielder selected by the Cardinals in the Rule 5 draft. He’s 24 years old (DOB 10/1/1987), left-handed at the plate and in the field, average height (5’10″) and weighs 185 lbs. He was traded from the Brewers to the Nationals last year for Jerry Hariston Jr. after Richie Weeks was injured.
Komatsu was drafted in the 8th round of the 2008 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers from California State University in Fullerton. It should be noted that he has both good (Sandlot) and terrible (Pimp Chronicles Part 1) taste in movies to go with acceptable musical tastes. In his senior year, he posted a .355/.459/.593 line over 231 ABs.
Most of 2009 was lost due to injuries. Komatsu returned to action in 2010 spending the year with the Brewers high-A affiliate in the Florida State League, Brevard County. Showcasing the skills that got him drafted, he maintained a walk rate over 10% and hit for a .321 average. With more walks than strikeouts and a modicum of power, he was considerably better offensively than the league average.
Entering the 2011 season, Komatsu garnered some national attention on prospect lists. Baseball America ranked him outside their top 10 but gave him top marks in the Brewers system for his “strike zone discipline” and “ability to hit for average”. Kevin Goldstein had him at #14 on his Brewers list saying:
Komatsu is another potential bench outfielder thanks to his approach, speed, and left-handedness.
Komatsu continued to display a superb approach at the plate entering AA in 2011. While with the Brewers affiliate, he walked a whopping 14% of his plate appearances. (Frame of reference, Matt Carpenter’s career minor league walk rate is 14.4%.) Komatsu maintained a high average and enough power to not look out of place.
On July 30th, he was swapped for Jerry Harriston Jr. Reactions to the trade included this take from John Sickles:
A 23-year-old left-handed hitter, Komatsu lacks power but has decent speed. He has excellent strike zone judgment and is a very polished hitter, but as a tweener-type who lacks big power, he’ll likely fit best as a reserve outfielder.
As well as these comments from Baseball America:
The questions for Komatsu are the typical tweener profile issues: Will his defense be enough for center field, and will he have enough power for a corner outfield spot? His speed is a tick above-average and he gets good jumps off the bat, but he doesn’t have the pure range to stack up against most regular big league center fielders.
Komatsu never managed to get his offense back together after the trade hitting just .234/.298/.297 and that likely played some part in his exposure to the Rule 5 draft.
Essentially what you would expect in a Rule 5 draftee, Komatsu is a marginal prospect whose ceiling looks like that of a bench player who can spell centerfield or the corners but would be overexposed defensively in the former and offensively in the latter if playing the position full time. Combine that with an uncharacteristic offensive profile (excellent plate discipline, little power) and scouts will have a tendency to shy away from him. There’s not a lot of upside and Komatsu looks exceedingly redundant behind Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran and Schumaker. With Adron Chambers a true centerfielder in AAA, Komatsu is likely to be returned to the Nationals or optioned to Memphis (pending a deal with Washington).
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If we send him back, I believe giving him a shot only costs 25K…… So this sounds like it’s at least worth giving him a shot to be a reserve OF.
? Believe we also forget that its not just $25,000. The guy also gets the minimum major league salary of $480,000. I think he would move down chambers to aaa instead of letting him play. I don’t know now, well see how it goes. I would of let Chambers handle it but they have other plans.
He only costs that salary (which is chicken feed in baseball terms) if he sticks with the team. Money simply isn’t a significant factor in Rule 5 situations. Usefulness is.
The only roll I see for him is to sit on the bench until Allen Craig is ready to be activated. Adron Chambers could, of course, do that but I suppose management wants Chambers to play everyday in AAA.
This is really about keeping options open in case Chambers isn’t ready for a 25-man slot. If he is, I suspect Komatsu goes back.
At the time of the draft I didn’t mind the selection, thinking him and Chambers would battle for the last position spot, and I was happy with that. However, we have since re-signed Schumaker (how much better does he project than him or Chambers outside of being able to play some 2nd) and then of course got Beltran. Interested so see how he looks over Spring Training but I assume he heads back to Washington.
I forget that Craig wont be on the 25 man the first month. So him and Chambers will still battle out for the last position spot I guess?
tyler henley the second?
The battle for the last of spot also includes Hamilton and Robinson. with Schumaker re-signed the edge could go to Robinson if he has a good spring because he is right handed.
The only way I see Komatsu staying with the Cards is if they, for some reason, trade Jon Jay. And I hope that doesn’t happen.
Good scouting report Azru, but “Pimp Chronicles” is extremely unterrible. Unless you’re referring to the fact that it has nothing to do with baseball while “The Sandlot” is about baseball, but then it’s just disappointing, tops.
The guy can steal some bases and has an outstanding career OBP in the minor leagues. He’s worth a shot. With Freese, Berkman, Holliday, Craig and Beltran in the lineup driving in runs, a guy with a good OBP fits well on the team.
[...] a good analysis of Komatsu by a St. Louis focused blog upon his acquisition last December; he’s clearly [...]