Prospect in the Jerry Hairston, Jr., Trade

Prospect in the Jerry Hairston, Jr., Trade

The Washington Nationals traded veteran Jerry Hairston, Jr., to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, July 30^th, in exchange for outfield prospect Erik Komatsu. What kind of player is Komatsu?

Eric Komatsu, OF: The Brewers drafted Komatsu in the eighth round in 2008, from Cal State Fullerton. He missed most of 2009 with injuries to his hamstring and wrist, plus complications from a concussion, but returned to health in 2010 and hit .323/.413/.442 for High-A Brevard County, with 68 walks and 28 steals. This year he's hitting .294/.393/.416 with 53 walks, 44 strikeouts, and 13 steals for Double-A Huntsville. A 23-year-old left-handed hitter, Komatsu lacks power but has decent speed. He has excellent strike zone judgment and is a very polished hitter, but as a tweener-type who lacks big power, he'll likely fit best as a reserve outfielder. I gave him a C+ pre-season but he's probably more on the upper edge of a straight Grade C as a useful future role player.