Erik Komatsu

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Erik Jordan Komatsu
(Komo)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Erik Komatsu reached the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012.

Amateur Career[edit]

Komatsu grew up in California and attended Adolfo Camarillo High School, where Delmon Young was a teammate. After attending Vanguard University for a year (he hit .329 with 8 homers), he spent 2007 at Oxnard College and hit .417 with 51 RBI. He led the state in hits (75) and total bases (127). He was selected by the New York Yankees in the 38th round of the 2007 amateur draft. He did not sign and then transferred to Cal State Fullerton. He hit .355/.459/.593 with 47 runs and 54 RBI in 63 games, while stealing 21 bases in 30 tries. He was second in the Big West Conference in OPS (behind Shane Peterson), third in walks (36, behind Peterson and Jared Clark), OBP and slugging, tied for first in triples (6, even with Danny Espinosa), 4th in total bases (137) and tied for 4th in home runs (9, even with Clark). He was first-team All-Conference. Baseball America named him third-team All-American. He was then chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth round of the 2008 amateur draft, the third outfielder they picked that year after Cutter Dykstra and fellow Big West player Logan Schafer.

Minor League Career[edit]

Komatsu was signed by scout Josh Belovsky and made his pro debut with the Helena Brewers in 2008, hitting .321/.394/.538 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI. He was among the Pioneer League leaders in runs (61, 3rd behind Roberto Lopez and John Delaney), hits (89, 4th between Luis Jimenez and Brock Kjeldgaard), doubles (19, tied for 10th), home runs (tied for 10th with Tony Delmonico and Kyle Russell), RBI (tied for 9th with Tony Brown), average (6th), OBP (tied for 3rd with Johnny Celis) and slugging (4th, between Tyler Kuhn and Russell). He joined Russell and Angel Castillo as the Pioneer League All-Star outfielders. Baseball America rated him as the league's #17 prospect, between Wily Peralta and Dan Hudson.

After spending most of 2009 on the disabled list with a concussion and a hamstring injury (hitting .253/.344/.316 in 26 games when healthy), he bounced back with the Brevard County Manatees in 2010, hitting .323/.413/.442 with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 5 homers, 90 runs, 63 RBI, and 28 stolen bases (in 37 tries). He led the Florida State League in runs (2 ahead of Anthony Gose), walks (68, 2 ahead of Robbie Grossman) and OBP. He was second in hits (157, 17 behind DJ LeMahieu), tied Quincy Latimore and Stephen Vogt for 6th in doubles, was second to Vogt in average and second to Vogt in OPS. He joined Melky Mesa and Latimore as the FSL All-Star outfielders. Among Milwaukee farmhands, he tied Brett Lawrie for first in runs, led in average and was second in hits (behind Lawrie). He was named the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year. Baseball America said he had the best strike zone discipline and was the best hitter for average among Brewer farmhands.

He began 2011 with the AA Huntsville Stars, hitting .294/.393/.416 with 6 home runs in 93 games for the team. On July 30th, he was traded to the Washington Nationals for Jerry Hairston Jr., and he went on to spend the remainder of the year with the Harrisburg Senators, where he batted .234/.298/.297 in 31 games. For the year, he stole 21 bases in 30 tries and had 64 walks.

Major League Career[edit]

Following the 2011 campaign, Komatsu was picked in the 2011 Rule V Draft by the Cardinals. He was the third position player taken in the Rule V Draft that year, following Ryan Flaherty and Gustavo Nunez. He made the St. Louis Opening Day roster and appeared in his first big league game on April 6th, recording his first hit in the majors off Tim Dillard of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

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