Posted by Michael Street on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 11:29 pm

Last week, I looked at the Asian pitchers and how they’ve started Spring Training, so this week I’ll look at the hitters and how they’re leading off the season. We lost Kenji Johjima in the offseason, of course, and there weren’t any position player imports—these kinds of imports are a rarity in any year—but these Asian standouts make up for quantity with quality. Appropriately, we’ll look at them in batting order sequence.

At the top of anyone’s list of hitters from any country is Ichiro Suzuki, who’s not coincidentally Seattle’s leadoff hitter. There was some question about whether he might continue in that role with Chone Figgins’ arrival, since Figgins is faster and younger and has outperformed Suzuki in some areas in the past three years.

But manager Don Wakamatsu has told Ichiro that it’s his call where he wants to hit and, for now, Ichiro is electing to remain comfortable at the top of Seattle’s order. That’s where he’s continued to hit in Spring Training and, through Friday’s games, he was also outhitting Figgins .286 to .077. It’s early, both in Spring Training and the season, so that’s hardly reason for Figgins fans to be concerned, but it does seem like Wak made the right call.

Ichiro’s other advantage as he prepares for the 2010 season is not being distracted by the World Baseball Classic, which may have contributed to his injuries last year. He hit the DL for the first time in his career due to stomach ulcers to start the season, and strained a hamstring in August.

Both conspired to keep him from playing in enough games to continue his record-setting string of 200-hit and 100-run seasons, though he did collect 200 hits to keep that streak going, while also collecting his 2000th MLB hit. With a fresh start to the year, look for him to hit 200 and score 100 this season once again, no matter where he ends up in the lineup.

Akinori Iwamura also lost time in 2009 to injury, when future ROY Chris Coghlan barrel-rolled into him at second base and ruptured Aki’s MCL, while also hurting Aki’s ankle and ACL. Though Iwamura was able to return to the Rays late in the year, he only played in 25 games, and in the offseason, the Rays traded him to the Pirates for reliever Jesse Chavez.

In his new digs, Aki has had to settle into a new city, team, and league, and has been getting some Hall of Fame assistance at the keystone. As I discussed in my article about the injury, Aki has had to shift from 3B to 2B with the Rays, which required him to master the double-play pivot. His inability to use the bag to protect himself from Coghlan’s slide—a common technique among experience 2B—exposed him to the devastating injury.

So Pittsburgh enlisted their Hall of Fame 2B Bill Mazeroski to work with Aki on his fielding around second base. Though his offensive numbers were never that impressive, Maz made the HOF with his leather, so it’s only appropriate he was brought in to help him. Aki called him “Mr. Mazeroski,” showing the typical respect and deference Japanese players have for veterans.

Though Aki has been no defensive slouch, Pittsburgh fans hope that Maz’s advice will help him avoid another season-ending injury. He should hit second in the Pittsburgh order, right behind Andrew McCutchen, and could be key to the Pirates’ chances of climbing out of the NL Central basement.

Kazuo Matsui, another #2 hitter, reached an offensive milestone of his own in 2009. He collected his 2,000th professional hit, which earned him his membership in Meikyukai, a Japanese baseball honor society similar to—but distinct from—their Hall of Fame.

Matsui also had some personal milestones, appearing in 132 games, more than he ever had in MLB and 18 more than he played in during his rookie season. The 533 PAs, also a career best for him, weren’t his most productive, though they were still decent. The .250 BA was a career-worst, and his .652 OPS was his second-worst, but his 9 HRs and 46 RBI were both career highs.

He’s on a team that was third-worst in the NL last seasons in runs per game, so they need all the help they can get, particularly after losing Miguel Tejada in the offseason. Matsui is likely to hit second in the Astros’ lineup, the spot where he hit more than any other spot but leadoff in 2009. Sandwiched between Michael Bourn and Lance Berkman could help him to another solid, if unspectacular, season.

Hideki Matsui’s World Series MVP award was not only the first time the award was won by an Asian player, it was the first to be won by a Designated Hitter, a position that the Yankees had too many of heading into 2010. Rather than wait to see if they might be able to re-sign him, Matsui went to another team with a winning tradition that needed a DH: the Anaheim Angels.

Unlike the Yankees, Anaheim might give Matsui a chance to play in the outfield, but he needs to prove himself—and his balky knees—healthy first. So he hasn’t played in the field yet in Spring Training, but he only made his debut last Tuesday at DH. There’s plenty of time for him to take the outfield before Opening Day but they want to take things slowly to be sure he doesn’t injure himself again.

In addition to surgery on both knees, Matsui also had one of the more painful injuries I’ve seen in baseball in 2006, made all the more amazing by how he reacted to it. Breaking in on a looping liner from left field, Matsui slid in the grass to make the catch, but caught his glove in the turf, which fractured his wrist.

The ball trickled to the wall behind him, but Matsui didn’t nurse his injury. He got up and, his hand flopping on the broken wrist like a limp dishrag, retrieved the ball to throw it into the cutoff man. His job completed, he collapsed in pain. For him to have the presence of mind to continue with the play despite the pain just shows what a complete player he is.

Whether or not he takes the field for the Angels, he’ll be a vital piece of the puzzle for them, and he should hit in the cleanup spot. Like all Asian players, he puts the team first, so he’ll take his time getting into the outfield, if and when they need him there.

And that’s all the Asian position players of note heading into this season. Quite a few guys are coming up in the minors, and we’ll look at them before the season begins.