Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto presents unexpected concern amid early .200 struggles
This wasn't supposed to be a problem for him.
Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto presents unexpected concern amid early . 200 struggles originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
For better or worse, Kazuma Okamoto is going to spend this season being compared to Munetaka Murakami. The Blue Jays signed Okamoto, while the White Sox signed Murakami -- both high-profile imports from Japan's NPB. And there was supposed to be a difference.
Okamoto was viewed as the safe signing, the more steady hitter with better contact skills and still some power. Murakami was viewed as risky due to his swing-and-miss tendencies despite his immense pop. That's what has made Okamoto's rough start (.
200 average, . 586 OPS) particularly concerning: He's displaying issues he wasn't necessarily expected to have. MORE: A magical no-hit bid for the Cleveland Guardians Okamoto ranks in the 7th-percentile in MLB in whiff percentage.