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2007 The organization was excited about Ishikawa`s 2005 being the start of a breakout, but success was fleeting. Part of the problem was Connecticut`s Thomas Dodd Stadium, which was a brutal hitting environment; part was that he failed to hit even .200 against lefties, after hitting .317 off them the prior year. The bigger, perhaps unassailable problem, though, is his swing. It has holes, leading to strikeouts, and has a pronounced uppercut, leading to lots of fly-ball outs since he isn`t strong enough to drive pitches over the wall consistently. The combination of a fly-ball swing, warning-track power, and strikeouts is a sure recipe for a low batting average and feelings of inadequacy. 2006 Ishikawa finally showed the power that the Giants were waiting for, but he also struck out in about 30% of plate his appearances. Sometimes strikeouts are a predictor of power in a player`s future, and sometimes it just means you can`t catch up to a fastball. Time will tell just which shade of foreshadowing Ishikawa`s strikeouts represent. One good sign is his reverse platoon split; he actually hit better against lefties than righties. There`s no doubt about his fielding; he`s almost a Gold Glove quality defender right now. The team will give him the starting job at Double-A next year to see what he can do against tougher competition. 2005 We covered his back-story last year: 21st-round pick with high-round talent given nearly a million bucks to sign and skip college. Ishikawa can now be viewed as simply an intriguing prospect. Showed good sock for a 20-year-old in his first year in the Sally League, and didn't embarrass himself in 16 games at high-A at season's end. Between Ishikawa and Brad Vericker, the Giants could have nice options at first base in a few years, if ever they get over their disdain for rookies.
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