After Slow Start, Sizzling Sox Star Masataka Yoshida Aims For All-Star Berth, Rookie Of The Year Award

At 29, Masataka Yoshida is old for a rookie. But the Boston Red Sox believe age is a matter of mind: if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

Boston lured the compact outfielder with a five-year, $90 million contract last winter. It was the largest contract ever given a position player coming from Japan to the U.S.

At first, the deal looked like a dud. But Yoshida then took off like a Fourth of July rocket, vaulting from a slow start to potential All-Star and Rookie of the Year.

At 5’8″ and 175 pounds, he’s one of the shortest players in the major leagues. But, like Jose Altuve and Ozzie Albies, he swings a potent bat.

A rare contact hitter in an age of sluggers, he and future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki are the only big-leaguers this century to reach base at least 85 times while striking out 25 times or less in their first 50 games. Those bat-to-ball skills helped the freshman overcome an awful start.

In his first 53 at-bats, his batting average was an anemic .189. Since April 20, however, he’s coasted at a .349 clip, best in the American League, with an OPS of .949, also among the league leaders.

Entering play Wednesday, his overall numbers included a .300 batting average, .375 on-base percentage, and .467 slugging average. He also surprised with seven homers and 33 runs batted in.

Even high-velocity deliveries don’t bother him, as his .406 average against four-seam fastballs suggests. Only two other hitters this season have done better.

Early this season, Yoshida was bothered by a combination of cold, wet weather and a steady diet of off-speed pitches, ranging from curves and sliders to split-fingered fastballs and the newly-defined sweepers. At one point, he was 1-for-19 against those slower deliveries.

Once he got the hang of it, however, the rookie’s problems diminished. Over a span of 26 plate appearances, he hit .409 with a .462 on-base percentage.

A standout for seven years with the Orix Buffaloes, Yoshida would be the sixth native of Japan to become an All-Star starter in the U.S. majors, following Kosuke Fukudome, Hideki Matsui, Hideo Nomo, Shohei Ohtani, and Ichiro.

The transfer from the Japanese to the American majors is never easy but Yoshida has shown a willingness to learn and adjust. After Red Sox coaches suggested he lower his hands, for example, the outfielder made the adjustment and watched his batting average rise as a result. He also opened up his batting stance.

After a rare three-strikeout game against Arizona, Yoshida huddled with coaches again and responded at the plate immediately, hitting .480 and slugging .760 in his next seven games.

Known to teammates as “the Macho Man,” the 176-pound line-drive hitter came to Boston with mixed reviews. Critics said he didn’t have enough power to be a corner outfielder or even passable defensive skills.

He started to prove them wrong when he homered twice and knocked in a WBC-record 13 runs in seven games, helping Japan win the tournament. He hit a three-run homer that tied the game in the semi-finals against Mexico and later joined Ohtani as the only All-Tournament team picks from Team Japan.

That time away from Red Sox spring training might have contributed to his slow start this season, as Mets manager Buck Showalter said about Francisco Lindor, also sluggish this spring.

Another problem for Yoshida was the outfield configuration of Fenway Park – specifically The Green Monster that towers 37 feet over left field.

Experienced outfielders from visiting teams often have trouble with balls that carom off the wall at crazy angles. Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jim Rice all had their issues with it.

Yoshida is working to overcome unfavorable Statcast metrics that suggest he is in the 10th percentile in outs above average and 12th percentile in outfielder jump. In the meantime, his bat remains his calling card.

“I say he’s like the Japanese Juan Soto,” said former big-league outfielder Adam Jones, a teammate of Yoshida’s in Japan. “He can hit the ball to all fields, all speeds. Like Soto, he hits everything — and walks, and doesn’t swing outside of the zone.”

Comparisons to Ichiro, another slashing left-handed hitter who stood less than six feet tall, have also started.

The Red Sox obviously have faith in their new left-fielder: they gave him No. 7, one below the number worn by Yastrzemski and two below the famous No. 9 worn by Williams.