As of last week, the NPB has had it's first confirmed cases of coronavirus, that of Tigers trio, Shintaro Fujinami, Hayata Ito and Kenya Nagasaka. Not only this, but overall infection numbers for COVID-19 are climbing everyday in Japan with a 1-day record high of over 130+ cases on Saturday in Tokyo alone. As such, the NPB has put the the season, understandably, on indefinite hold saying that they will be "flexible" with the opening day dates.
As a result of the Tigers cluster of COVID-19 cases, a number of Dragons players were put into self-isolation as it came on the back of a practice game played at Nagoya Dome. Ryosuke Hirata apparently reported to having a fever that died down pretty quickly. Given Hirata is a high school sempai of Fujinami's from Osaka Toin, it would be no surprise if they were in close contact during the series.
Dragons players/staff were wearing masks in the
locker room last week. C/- 中スポ
Nagoya Dome staff have gone into disinfectant overload as well is wiping down any areas the Tigers players may have been in contact with.
Between the 4th and 7th of April, Dragons players and staff will be avoiding the Nagoya Dome and Nagoya Stadium facilities while also self-isolating. Players and staff have also been asked to avoid eating-out for this period of time. From the 8th, players will train at Nagoya Stadium in staggered time periods with smaller numbers of players to avoid infection. As players from both 1-gun and 2-gun will be training in the same place, it is expected training sessions will be more compact with more frequent rest times. Unsurprisingly there are no practice games with other teams planned for the month of April.
During his short time away from training, 2019 #1 pick, Takaya Ishikawa has said he will work on the mental side of this game with a tennis ball in his room with a view to increasing his focus. Yota Kyoda, Dragons player rep, has asked for players to take care of themselves during this downtime in an effort to avoid infection by COVID-19.
Position Player Battles
With the season being put on hold, there's still a lot of room for speculation as to whether or not we'll have a season. The chance of a shortened season seems increasingly more likely with suggestions for a reduced Climax Season or Interleague series floated as ideas for keeping the same regular Pacific-Central League games as in previous years. Whatever the case, we will probably see some form of baseball this year, albeit in a very shortened form. As such, I'd still like to take time to look at some of the battles in the field for regular positions. Some are quite intriguing battles and some are utter cluster cookies in terms of same-same but different. I'll be kicking this off with catcher and then further looking at the outfield and infield in separate posts.
Catcher
Perhaps the most intriguing battle is the one that has been ongoing for the best part of 6 years. After Motonobu Tanishige's retirement and general wind-down, the Dragons have been in search of a regular catcher behind the plate. There have been a few pretenders over the past few years with two of the more "regular" catchers now no longer with the club. Shota Sugiyama looked like he was going to stake a claim in 2016 with a team-leading OBP, but new management saw his stocks dive with investment going into Masato Matsui and the free-agency signing of Shota Ono. Shigekazu Mori leaned on his veteran catchers, but since the introduction of Yoda's new Jedi Council, a shift toward a younger player that can do it all has been the focus. As such, Matsui was traded to the Orix Buffaloes mid-season last year while Sugiyama was released from the team. Ono has had a reduced role and due to injury concerns may never be the player the team had hoped for.
Matsui and Sugiyama start in greener pastures in 2020.
From last year, Yoda and his team have sought to give experience and auditions to a number of catchers. Last year, Takuma Kato saw the lion's share of attention behind the plate but his blocking, game-calling and hitting tools are all suspect. The team were however to keep opposition runners at bay with few wanting to game Kato's bazooka arm. With the 3-catcher system the Dragons carry, Takuya Kinoshita the aforementioned Ono and Kota Ishibashi all saw some time behind the plate with no one player standing out. Kinoshita has long been billed as a solid catcher that can hit, but hasn't shown he can hit, while Shota Ono is the last of the experienced catchers with the team that has seemingly missed the boat on the fight for the regular catcher's mask. Kota Ishibashi, is, quite frankly, a bit too young to be considered a full-time regular, but showed great promise in his first season in professional baseball with leadership skills beyond his tender 19 years.
That was last year, but what about this year? The main thing that has changed has been the addition of Yuya Gunji, Keio University's star catcher in 2019, to the fold. The catching coaches have hailed Gunji as a possible opening day starter and this then throws the competition at the position into disarray. Please note the below ages represent how old the players will be in 2020.
#
Name
Age
Bats
Throws
2019 GP
27
Shota Ono
34
R
R
34
35
Takuya Kinoshita
29
R
R
39
44
Yuya Gunji
23
R
R
-
52
Takuma Kato
28
R
R
92
58
Kota Ishibashi
20
R
R
12
68
Iori Katsura
29
R
R
4
Catcher is a position where you have to look at the long term particularly in the absence of a quality first-team starter. The Dragons have rarely had this problem throughout their history with a neat continuation of regular catchers starting with Tatsuhiko Kimata in 1965 and ending with Tanishige in 2015. Given the extraordinary circumstances, the Dragons need to look at least mid-term, by that measure, it's going to be crunch time for one of either Kinoshita or Katsura this year. Katsura in particular will likely get released at the end of the year if he doesn't show some progression this year. The only thing I see as a certainty this year is Ono's veteran presence being used later in games. Other than that, it's very open.
Let's have a quick evaluation of each player and their various skill sets;
#
Name
Game Calling
Arm
Blocking
Hitting
Experience
Overall
27
Shota Ono
A
D
A
D
S
C
35
Takuya Kinoshita
B
B
B
C
B
C
44
Yuya Gunji
B
A
B
C+
C
C
52
Takuma Kato
D
S
C
C
B
D+
58
Kota Ishibashi
A
A
A
C+
D
C
68
Iori Katsura
B
C+
C+
C
B
D+
These are fairly subjective ratings but I've based in on what I've researched and seen in games. I've assigned values of 1-5 based on the individual skills to calculate and overall score (D=1, S=5). As you can see, there's no one that really stands out based on how I currently view the staff. In terms of roundedness, Gunji and Ishibashi are probably going to be the best choices but both have their limits with experience. Ishibashi has an extra year on Gunji in terms of familiarity with his pitching staff, but Gunji has an extra 4 years of college experience on Ishibashi and also higher leverage experience at the summer koshien as well as in the Big6 University League.
Is the future of the Dragons in the hands of one of these youngsters?
If you want to go with more experienced hands, then Takuya Kinoshita is probably the best rounded. Katsura could yet surprise, but essentially hasn't done anything of note in close to 4 years due to injury and other misfortune. Last season's regular catcher Kato is not without his flaws either and even though he has a rocket arm, he still receives signs from the bench, has difficulty blocking pitches and also can't seem to hit very well (aside from some hot patches, although this isn't exclusive to him). Shota Ono, whom I've touched on earlier, is something that can certainly calm things down, but you can't expect him to hit a go-ahead double or throw-out anyone faster than Kosuke Fukudome.
The Dragons backroom team really have an unenviable task of choosing where they want to go with this position but so far, Gunji, by some reports, was brought in to be an immediate challenger for Kota Ishibashi. Ishibashi, in my opinion, showed immense potential in 2019 on the farm and with the first team. Given that he's the only catcher of his age bracket, it makes sense to bring in someone closer in age to push him to be better.
How I see this position to likely play out is, once again a 3-catcher system where we see all 6 guys get some time here and there with the first team. I think it makes sense to leave Ishibashi on the farm for the majority of the year to get as many reps as possible with the odd run of starts in 1-gun when opportunities arise. I think we'll otherwise see a trio of Kato, Gunji and Kinoshita start the season with Ono popping up here and there to provide leadership. Kato could be cut at the expense of that leadership if they start with two relatively inexperienced players and the team have shown they are willing to cast him aside if not doing well, as in spring training this year.
My prediction this year is that Gunji is going to be the main catcher this year with 80+ appearances. Given his projected and current ability, he has about the same floor as anyone else but with a much higher upside.I also think we'll see more of Ishibashi with around 20-30 appearances behind the plate. The rest I think are divvied up among the other 4.
The only thing preventing Gunji from hitting the ground running is his rapport with his catching staff. Building rapport and a good relationship with his pitchers as well as getting his head around calling games against NPB players will make or break his year. Lucky for him, he's got plenty of time to study video and once training goes back on Wednesday, to work with his pitchers in the bullpen.
More uncertainty has come up regarding the start of the season as Japanese news outlets have reported that 3 Hanshin Tigers players have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There is a very good chance this will impact the start of the season. However, hang all that, we're still going to have a look at the future of the team. Whenever we do start, things probably will remain just about the same.
This also comes on the back of the news that Moises Sierra has signed a fully-rostered deal and was awarded the number 45 for his efforts. He bolsters stocks in outfield and can hopefully cover for or even do better than Zoilo Almonte while he recovers from injury. Sierra needed to be signed by the end of this month or be released by the team due to rules regarding age 26+ over foreigners on development deals.
Bullpen Outlook
As we looked at the starting rotation hopefuls last post, I'd like to talk about the bullpen this time around. It's a bit tricky to see what's going to happen with the pen but the pre-season has given us an idea of how it might shape up. I'm going to give my thoughts on where I see the bullpen at the moment and what might need to happen for it to actually be good enough.
Who will be loosening up in the Nagoya Dome bullpen most this year?
Out of probably anywhere in the team, the bullpen looks shakiest. There's a lot of players that either need to prove themselves, or there's just a bit of uncertainty given the youth and injury history of some of the players. I've put together a couple of lists with how I see our medium/low leverage bullpen arms and our high leverage bullpen arms.
Med/Low Leverage
RHP
LHP
Daisuke Sobue
Yuki Hashimoto
Keisuke Tanimoto
Takahiro Matsuba
Shinji Tajima
Tatsuro Hamada
Yu Sato
Yusuke Kinoshita
Junki Ito
Hiroshi Suzuki
Ryosuke Oguma
Takuya Mitsuma
High Leverage
RHP
LHP
Raidel Martinez
Toshiya Okada
Luis Gonzalez
Hiroto Fuku
Kento Fujishima
Katsuki Matayoshi
You're probably going to either be slightly depressed or confused looking at this list. To be quite honest though, the amount of 'proven' high leverage relievers is certainly on the low side. Out of those that I've listed as the high leverage relievers, there's a lot that could go wrong with any one of them. Based on recent form I'd say Fujishima is probably the most consistent of the bunch while Gonzalez has shown himself to be competent. Hiroto Fuku is probably the next best arm with Fujishima in terms of his track record in 2019. Question marks remain over Okada, particularly as closer, and whether or not Matayoshi will find some semblance of form. Matayoshi has looked good in pre-season in his outings and Okada is probably just about good enough.
One area of concern regarding Okada is his home/away splts. At Nagoya Dome, he had a comfortable 1.59 ERA over 22.2 innings. Away from home however, he pitched 27.2 inning for a 5.20 ERA. Ouch. Looking at Okada's splits on counts as well, it's obvious that if he doesn't get on top early, batters have an advantage. Raidel Martinez similarly has 1.00 ERA at home and a 5.93 ERA away. It's needless to say that Dragons pitcher benefit a lot from their home ground. Even while Martinez and Okada have proven to be some of the better arms in the bullpen, are they good enough when they play outside Nagoya? Hiroto Fuku and Kento Fujishima are just about the only Dragons relievers to have better numbers on the road. Fujishima in particular had a 0.56 ERA across 16 innings away.
Are these 3 the best Chunichi has to offer?
On the other side of the coin, there's a lot of mid/low guys that could build themselves into high leverage relievers with a bit of momentum. The key people in those categories for me are Yuki Hashimoto, Takuya Mitsuma and Hiroshi Suzuki. I think these 3 have the stuff to be reliable bullpen arms in the latter half of a game, for them it's just a matter of putting it together. I have perhaps been harsh on Hashimoto, but he is a rookie. He has done well in pre-season but his inexperience is one I'm not happy to bet on just yet.
Can one of this trio be the next arm to rely on in a pinch?
Mitsuma has steadily improved over the past year. Mitsuma had an okay 3.81 ERA over 28.1 innings on the farm, while he improved on that with the top team with a 3.38 ERA over 34.2 innings. He's proven himself in those middle innings. I believe he has the stuff to make it in higher leverage situations as well.
Hiroshi Suzuki probably has the highest ceiling of the three with his fastball that tops out at 156 km/h. He collected 14 saves last season and was dropped for it as he continually gave people heart attacks by loading up bases and otherwise had an ERA unbecoming of a closer at 4.32. Control is still a problem for Suzuki and while he seems to be developing some good secondary pitches with his cutter and what seems to be a slider, there's still some way to go for him to fulfill his potential. He only played in 3 games this pre-season pitching 3.1 innings for no earned-runs but also no strikeouts and 4 free bases given to the opposition.
As the old addage goes, bullpen arms are volatile. To be a good reliever, you need to do it over a number of years and there are few that do. They either flame out or just plain lose it. Anything could happen at this stage but my money is certainly on the 6 relievers I've listed in the high leverage area to be on the roster come opening day. I'll lay down my idea for my ideal bullpen when I go through the possible opening day roster in a future post.
Overall, the outlook for the bullpen I don't think can be as optimistic as with the starting rotation. In saying that however, the bullpen rotation that was introduced last year with Yoda and Hideyuki Awano has been effective so far. A lot of arms were brought up and sent down last year to give variety out of the pen and rest those who needed it. The cool-off times were used effectively and overall I think bullpen management was much better in 2019 than it has been in the past (even if Joely Rodriguez was a BIG part of that bullpen).
How it will all gel together with Okada as full-time closer and Luis Gonzales in his first year in Japanese baseball is yet to be seen, but we should probably temper our expectations if the starter can't go 5-6 innings into a game.
Here I would like to spend some time talking about the pitching of the Dragons. The reason for this is, that what our rotation will look like this year is going to be very different with what we opened with in 2019. Having a bit of a look at the battles that are happening in the team for spots, is a good use of our time here.
The starting rotation is probably the key area where we're going to see a lot of change. Last year, because of injuries and poor form, we had Daisuke Yamai in the rotation and Shotaro Kasahara as opening day starter. While both would fail to hold down a spot in the rotation for whatever reason, this year's options look more interesting with a lot more healthier, relatively in-form arms to choose from.
The main contenders for the 6-man opening day rotation are going to be Yudai
Ono, Yuya Yanagi, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Takumi Yamamoto, Kazuki Yoshimi, Kodai Umetsu, Koji Fukutani, Shotaro Kasahara and rookie, Yuichiro Okano. I think this will end up just about neatly sewn up by opening day, particularly with Romero now out of the equation, but compared to the start of camp, there's less certainty about who will actually make as players have been able to press their case through extended time with practice games. Lets have a run down on the locks, the hopefuls and some dark horses.
Locks
1. Yudai Ono - 32 y/o, LHP
I don't think there's much question about Ono opening the rotation as the staff's ace. Whether we get 2019 Ono or 2017 Ono is yet to be seen, but I think he gained a lot of confidence last year. It probably also helps that he has a decent supporting staff behind him now. Ono's form is going to be key to success that the Dragons will have this year. If he has an off year or goes down with injury, that will hurt the floor of this rotation.
In 2019, Ono had a huge bounce back year. This was largely attributed to his willingness to pitch higher in the zone which was apparently something Hideyuki Awano suggested to him. This resulted in more strikeouts and better results overall leading Ono to his first individual title as 2019's Central League ERA leader. He was then selected in the successful Premier12 Japanese team to cap off a fruitful season for the southpaw.
Ono has the tools to be a Sawamura winner. If he's going to do it, this is the year to. At 32 he's got quite a few miles on his arm but has a good mix of skill and guile to make it happen. Ono is also someone who can go deep into games a pitch a lot of innings. He lead the Central league in innings pitched in 2015 with Shintaro Fujinami. If he can get some more wins under his belt, he'll be a real contender for those honors. At worst, I think he'll at least get his 3rd career All-Star call-up.
2. Yuya Yanagi - 26 y/o, RHP
Yanagi had a breakout season in 2019 and while he had a blistering first half which lead to his selection for the All-Star game, he cooled off over the backend of the season only claiming 2 more wins and ballooning out his ERA. While is 11-7 record is the best any Dragon could muster, his 3.53 ERA was less flattering.
Yanagi showed some amazing form in 2019 and was certainly in talks for a Sawamura Award winning season midway through the year. His 13K game against the Lotte Marines in June followed by his interleague valuable player nomination seemed to cap off the awakening of a juggernaut. In the tail-end however, Yanagi somewhat unfortunately became the team's Swallows specialist where he made 9 starts against the Tokyo team throughout the year. This probably helped the Swallows hitters get used to Yanagi and unfortunately affected his results as the season wore on.
Yanagi threw 170.1 innings in 2019 and we can only hope for similar quality in 2020. It's often hard to back-up after such a successful season so the honus is on Yanagi to prove himself as the undoubted #2 in this rotation and solidify his spot throughout the season.
3. Shinnosuke Ogasawara - 23 y/o LHP
Ogasawara has had his injury problems and last year was no different. The 23 year old missed the majority of the season making only 7 starts at the tail end of the year with a relatively impressive 3-1 record and 2.56 ERA. Ogaswara is perhaps another that growth is expected of this year as he enters his 5th year with the Dragons.
Only 2-years removed from being opening day starter, Ogasawara still represents a lot of potential yet to be fulfilled. There is a lot of good parts to Ogasawara's make up but injuries have really killed any momentum he's had. Still yet to pitch more than 120 innings in a season, it will be hoped that the 2015 Koshien winner will be in a better place particularly after having some extra rest with the delay of the start of the season.
In his last two practice game outings, Ogasawara hasn't struck out a batter. This concerns me. I know we shouldn't read too much into these things, maybe he's polishing his breaking balls, but to not get a strikeout in 12 innings is a little disconcerting. I'm not sure of the hardness of contact he's gotten in these outings, but I do hope he starts missing bats again soon. Either way, I see Ogasawara as the best potential #3 in this rotation to round out a top three of former top round draft picks.
Best of the rest
This guys I list here are just about going to be in the rotation come starting day or at least have an inside running on getting a job.
4. Takumi Yamamoto - 20 y/o, RHP
The dimunitive, Yamamoto has taken some impressive strides in the last 18
months and the youngster from Hyogo prefecture looks like he's a very good chance to start the year in the opening day rotation. In the graphic I started this post with, Nikkan Sports see him as a lock to be in the rotation, and while I'm disagreeing here to a minor degree, it just goes to show how far his stocks have risen.
A #6 pick in 2017, Yamamoto has probably shone just about the brightest out of anyone in his cohort. Alongside the likes of the highly rated Sho Ishikawa and the fireballing Hiroshi Suzuki, Yamamoto has shown steady progress as a starting pitcher and has lit up some eyes with a great arsenal of breaking pitches that dip and dive to deceive hitters. He pitched just 45.1 innings last year, but with a 2.98 ERA looked the best of many of the pitchers at times showing his potential.
I'm at a loss as to what my expectation for Yamamoto are. This will be his 3rd year with the Dragons and as a professional ball-player. He's not a tall guy which does make you think he won't have extended success but his fighting mentality, perhaps the best of his class in that regard, will pull him through where other pitchers falter. I'm a big fan of his moxy and I'd say he's a very good chance to start in the rotation this year.
5. Yuichiro Okano - 25 y/o, RHP
Okano is a brand new acquisition and has just about shown that's he's good enough to be in the rotation for the opening 6 games. Okano has been steady in his outing in spring training and in practice games so I would honestly be suprised at this point if he didn't have a starting job come the beginning of the season.
His scout report and results so far, suggest a steady pitcher who is going to eat innings for few runs. He doesn't have lightning stuff nor an awe-inspiring heater but has very good rhythm on the mound and is able to turn it on when he has to.
I'm a fan of Okano and even if he doesn't start straight away, we'll definitely be seeing something of him this year even if it's out the bullpen. So far however, I think he starts.
6, Kazuki Yoshimi, 36 y/o, RHP
I'm not a huge fan of Yoshimi anymore, but as a #6 or so in this rotation I could just about stomach him. He's not been great the past couple of years and is far removed from his best. However, in terms of a mix of experience and ability, he's probably the next best candidate after Ono.
Time and TJ surgery have not been kind to Yoshimi. It looked like we might see some level of the heights he achieved early in his career when he came back from surgery and posted a 3.08 ERA over 131.1 innings in 2016. It has however only gone from bad to worst for the once heralded ace of the rotation as he posted a 6.41 ERA in 2019 in only 19.2 innings. From 2017, Yoshimi has been nothing but replacement level with a 0.2 WAR in 3 years.
Yoshimi, may have had a 6.41 ERA, but here's the light in the dark, he had a 2.22 FIP. While the sample is small, that's a very marked difference. Maybe the Dragons will bet on those peripherals, but one thing is for sure, time is running out for a comeback with so many young arms now chomping at the bit.
7. Kodai Umetsu, 23 y/o, RHP
The man that only managed 1-win his entire competitive college career already
has 4 in his first season of professional baseball. Umetsu had his injury worries to start his rookie year, but he made a storming end to the season. If you're going to bet on potential, Umetsu has to be in your starting day rotation.
Umetsu has only made a handful of appearances with the top team in this extended spring training, but has looked just about good enough. He let up 3 runs against the Carp which led to him training with the second team for a while, but his comeback performance in a recent practice game was solid enough to make his cause look tenable.
Umetsu has an aura of great potential and should he he stake his claim and stay in the rotation in 2020, could be a big contender for rookie of the year honors. It's just a matter of how he bounces back after his first taste of professional ball.
Dark Horses
8. Koji Fukutani, 29 y/o, RHP
Koji Fukutani is the fireball closer that wasn't. "The Professor" as he's often called
due to his academic approach to the game, has tried to reinvent himself as a starter the last 18 months or so. One promising start last year was all we saw before he went down with injury.
Oftentimes a bit too cerebral, Fukutani gradually fell down the pecking order as a reliever. He was an All-Star in 2014, closer in 2015 and in more recent years has been a low-leverage reliever. Starting seems like it might remove a bit of the mental element of clutch situation that Fukutani seems to have struggled with and quite honestly, I like what I saw in his start last year where he threw 6Ks in 6 innings against the Carp.
Fukutani has had some innings in pre-season as well. Against Orix on the 10th of March, he struck out 6 batters in 4 innings unfortunately for 3 earned runs. The ability to strikeout guys is there and if we don't see him on starting day, we'll definitely see him make some spot starts throughout the year.
9. Shotaro Kasahara, 25 y/o, LHP
Last year's opening day starter appears to have fallen off the grid. Injuries and concerns over a heart arrhythmia limited his time last year but there hasn't been much of him seen on the first team squad this pre-season either. He has spend most of his time tuning up on the farm, but the fact that he's a lefty and has a track record makes me think he's an outside chance for the starting day roster.
Aforementioned illnesses prevented Kasahara from building on his breakout in 2018, but tuning up on the farm, it has been said that his fourseam is getting back to normal which means his change-up will have a bit more life as well. I don't think we can read too much into last year given his health issues, but we can hope he will turn it around again this year.
Given the first-team haven't given Kasahara a chance this pre-season make me think that he's a little further away from the starting day than any of the others listed here. However, that extra few weeks of preparation might make him jump ahead in the pecking order. Who knows?
Conclusion
In the end who will be in the rotation and who I want to be in the rotation will probably differ. Here are my two predictions:
What the Dragons do: Ono, Yanagi, Ogasawara, Yoshimi, Yamamoto, Umetsu
What I'd prefer: Ono, Yanagi, Ogasawara, Umetsu, Okano, Yamamoto
I think with Yoshimi in the rotation, you're betting on his floor being better than a younger player. I personally think Okano will give equal if not better value in the rotation. Unless you want to hold on him as a wild card for when Yoshimi eventually does burn out his usefulness. Having a pitcher up your sleeve that hasn't been seen by the rest of the league too much, could be quite useful down the stretch. I would also definitely bet on Umetsu. I think the potential is huge and he could be a future ace for the team. Yamamoto I'm not as high on as others, but he has earned his spot, the others speak for themselves.
From what I can see, even without Romero, this team has a lot of depth to pull on but I do worry about the floor. If Yanagi or Ono go down, it's a very average rotation with a low floor and high ceiling. Ogasawara would be the most proven then and I wouldn't want to rely on him anchoring the rotation at this point in his career.
Starting day looks to be just a month away now and hopefully we'll see some top quality baseball to come. Look out for some more posts in the future about some of the other position battles as well as a prediction for the season ahead.
Apologies to all for the blackout, I'm back on track with some other projects and can now devote some more time to the blog. This is a post I've been working on for a few months and has been on the backburner. Some of it you may already be well aware of, but I think it bears repeating in the lead-up to the expected season now slated for a late April start.
Staff Ins and Outs
The backroom has been given quite a shake-up this year with 2-gun posts almost being wholesale replaced while the 1-gun staff have also received some additions and promotions from the farm.
The exits of Ishii and Morino are a result of poor hitting results from farm batters in 2019 while Fujio Tamura was just running out his contract as a left-over from Shigekazu Mori's backroom. Narahara was seemingly let go in the immediate aftermath, but after his appointment as Rakuten Eagles farm manager was announced, you can see why he left. It's a step up in his career and even though he did wonders for the Dragons defense last year, it's time for him to open up a new page in his career.
The big additions here at that of the former Carp clean-up hitter Kenta Kurihara and the 3-time Central League batting champion, Alonzo Powell. Powell was a star for the Dragons in the early to mid-90s and has been coaching in the United States since retirement. He most recently finished an assignment as the San Francisco Giants hitting coach but also served as the hitting instructor for the now infamous 2017 World Series winning Houston Astros. You can't help but be a little excited that the Dragons are bringing in a foreign coach with that kind of experience. Apparently Powell and Yoda have been pals since their playing days. Yoda had played with the idea of recruiting Powell to his backroom if he ever became manager and while it wasn't able to happen this year due to Powell's MLB commitments, it has come to fruition for 2020.
You can listen to an interview with Powell here care of Japan Baseball Weekly podcast. It's a great listen and hopefully we'll hear more from him this year.
Kenta Kurihara is another that Yoda shares a bond with having both served in the backroom for the Rakuten Eagles. Kurihara was a hard-hitting first-baseman for the Hiroshima Carp in the 2000s also serving as clean-up hitter for Samurai Japan on a number of occasions. Certainly a younger staff member, Kurihara will be looking to help inject more power hitting prowess into the Dragons hitters.
Otherwise, Hiroyuki Watanabe comes back into the fold after spending some time in the shadows of the Dragons office. He previously stood beside first-base for Motonobu Tanishige. One of a very select few defensive specialists at first-base in his playing days.
Former team captain, Nimura returns as chief farmer.
Toru Nimura returns to his position as farm manager after helping the likes of Hirokazu Ibata break-out when he was beginning his career. Seen as somewhat of a hardass, it will be interesting to see if he will be as good as Ogasawara was with the team. If anything, Guts approach was rather hard nosed as well, so maybe the players won't notice a difference.
Finally, Shingo Takeyama's retirement has been rewarded with a coaching role. By all means a solid defensive catcher with good game-calling skills, Takeyama should be just about good enough considering the catching royalty that the 1-gun staff holds claim to in Takeshi Nakamura and Tsutomu Ito.
While there have been a lot of ins and outs, there also been a lot of shuffling between the two teams. Here's what the everything looks like going into 2020.
1- gun position
Name
Number
Manager
Tsuyoshi Yoda
92
Head Coach
Tsutomu Ito
83
Organisational batting coach
Alonzo Powell
93
Batting coach
Takayuki Murakami
85
Batting coach
Kenta Kurihara
73
Pitching coach
Hideyuki Awano
74
Pitching coach
Motoyuki Akahori
84
Battery coach
Takeshi Nakamura
80
Infield/baserunning coach
Masahiro Araki
88
Outfield/baserunning coach
Hidenori
89
Conditioning coach
Yasushi Miki
91
Conditioning coach
Hiroshi Tsukamoto
95
2- gun position
Name
Number
Manager
Toru Nimura
72
Batting coach
Toshio Haru
71
Pitching coach
Takuya Asao
81
Pitching coach
Takashi Ogasawara
86
Pitching coach
Ken Kadokura
87
Battery coach
Shingo Takeyama
75
Infield/baserunning coach
Hiroyuki Watanabe
76
Outfield/baserunning coach
Takahito Kudo
78
General position player coach
Mitsuo Tateishi
90
Conditioning coach
Hiroto Mizuno
94
Conditioning coach
Takemi Miyamae
96
As you can see, Haru and Kudo have been demoted while Hidenori and Araki are given a chance with the top team this year. Araki is only in his second year of coaching, but by all means received rave reviews with the farm team this year, while Hidenori is somewhat more seasoned having already seen time with 1-gun as the the third-base coach under Motonobu Tanishige. The other thing that we might find outstanding about the shuffle is that 2-gun have only one batting coach (with Powell likely to come in here and there) while the team in general has no left-handed hitter among the staff. Yonetoshi Kawabata was supposedly linked with a batting coach position, but for whatever reason that seems to have fallen through. Kazuki Inoue was also linked to the position before joining Akihiro Yano's staff at the Hanshin Tigers.
I feel as though we've finally stepped out from the Ochiai/Mori shadow and have really started to find a new looking Dragons team molded by Yoda's leadership.
Player INs and OUTs
Most of the dirty work has been done through the senryokugai notices in October, but we have had one more departure with Joely Rodriguez signing a 2-year deal with the Texas Rangers in the MLB. The lefty was on-fire for the Dragons for the last 18 months and it's no surprise he's picked up a major league deal. Better the US than the Yomiuri Giants.
A big loss, but a big move for Rodriguez.
In regards to the foreign legion, the Dragons have been able to negotiate new deals with Enny Romero and Zoilo Almonte while negotiations with the Cuban government, have resulted in Raidel Martinez and development catcher, Ariel Martinez sticking around for another year. Dayan Viciedo otherwise moves into year two of his 3-year deal. Otherwise, the Dragons have also snared a Cuban hurler through their negotiations with the government in Yariel Rodriguez. The 22 year-old who played for Cuba in the Premier12 this year will be coming in on a development deal.
With Rodriguez gone and Almonte's health in question, the Dragons have been quick to make some acquisitions to cover any eventuality. Former Orioles farmhand, Luis Gonzalez has been signed as a replacement for Rodriguez but unfortunately lacks the same profile of his predecessor. Gonzalez seemingly has a high fly-ball rate which seems like an odd idea give the effectiveness of the Dragons infield defense. However, that is the man that has been picked up on this occasion. Former major leaguer, Moises Sierra has also been captured but on a development deal. Sierra has been brought in to cover for Almonte if he's not 100% at the start of the season. As he is over 26, NPB rules state that he has to be activated by the end of March or be released. It will be interested to see how that plays out particularly with the season delayed. I say the Dragons probably activate him in any case rather than risk seeing him leave while Almonte breaks down.
Something has to be done about Sierra's contract.
Development deals included, the Dragons will be running with 8 Latin players on their roster this year with 4 Cubans and 4 Dominicans. The Dragons have only had 4 non-Latin players with the team since 2009 (Wei-Yen Chen, Matt Clark, Drew Naylor, Dillon Gee) which shows the continued reliance on the Caribbean pipeline and the connections that Shigekazu Mori has brought and continues to bring to the team.
Overall however I think we'll see Romero, Gonzalez, R. Martinez and Viciedo as the first-team regulars to start the season. Gonzalez may fizzle however and we might see more of Almonte/Sierra as a result. There'll be similar juggling issues that we faced last year but I'm confident that the bullpen will be stronger this year even without Rodriguez in the back-end. Unfortunately Romero is now out for the first half of the year which does open a chance for someone to make their mark in the top team but unfortunately leaves a hole in the rotation.
Spring Training
While the rookies stated training in Nagoya after the New Year period, the team will generally be coming together after a well rested or full on training schedule over the majority of the off-season. Perhaps the most interesting training that was undertaken was a short-course at Driveline Baseball for Takumi Yamamoto, Kento Fujishima, Katsuki Matayoshi, Shotaro Kasahara and Akito Okura. Driveline sent out instructors to Japan to for a clinic or two with more than a few players across the NPB.
For those that don't know, Driveline is known for it's use of biometric data to help players identify issues with their form and help them use their body more effectively. Nippon Ham Fighters, Chihiro Kaneko was one of the first NPB players to seek out Driveline and he went stateside to work with them in the 2018-19 off-season. Since then, the profile of the Driveline team has risen in Japan and it's good to see some notable, young Dragons having some of their stuff analysed. Let's hope we can see an uptick from all 5 pitchers involved. I personally think Matayoshi and Kasahara have the potential to benefit greatly.
Spring camp went about as well as you could hope with the majority of open-sen games played behind closed doors. With most fielding position filled, it's been mainly an audition for the starting rotation with quite a few different names milling around. I plan to make a post regarding the outlooks for the rotation in the coming week or so in a lead up to the new opening day as well as some other notes about the team and fringe players we might see in the team.
For the time being I hope this tides some over. I do apologise for the long absence and while I can't guarantee any regularity, I still want to be one of your first stops for Dragons news in English.
Going into this year's draft all indicators suggested that the Dragons were going to select Summer Koshien finalist, Yasunobu Okugawa as their top pick. Days before the draft however, manager Yoda declared his intention to select local talent, Takaya Ishikawa of Toho High School. Yoda put forward his vision of a line-up core of Akira Neo and Ishikawa as two that would support the Dragons for many years to come.
In a draft that had the generational talent of 100 mp/h hurler, Roki Sasaki, college fireballer Masato Morishita and the aforementioned Okugawa, it was a bit hard to believe the Dragons would go in for a position player, but that's how it played out.
The Dragons ended up having to contest their first round pick once more, this time with the Softbank Hawks and Orix Buffaloes; both teams were suggested to be going in for Sasaki so there were more than a few murmurs of surprise in the meeting room upon the announcement.
Yoda's first job as manager last year was to pull Akira Neo's rights to contract out of the hat and he once again proved to be the man with the hand of god as he pulled out the winning ticket for Ishikawa.
Prior to the draft, Ishikawa had shown his desire to join the Dragons and Yoda's winning hand made it a match made in heaven.
Along with Ishikawa, the Dragons drafted 4 pitchers and a catcher in the main draft as well as a pitcher in the development draft.
Pick
Name
Position
Alma Mater
1
Takaya Ishikawa
IF
Toho High School
2
Yuki Hashimoto
LHP
Osaka Commercial University
3
Yuichiro Okano
RHP
Toshiba
4
Yuya Gunji
C
Keio University
5
Yuki Okabayashi
RHP
Komono High School
6
Ryushin Takeuchi
RHP
Osaka Sousei High School
Development Draft
1
Hiroaki Matsuda
LHP
Nagoya University
The team picked a balanced 3 high school and 3 college/industrial league bunch of players. There's a lot to like about this lot of picks. Yuki Hashimoto threw a no-hitter in the Kansai University league last year, Gunji is a catcher that can hit and Okabayashi is a fireballer from Mie Prefecture. Most outlets are calling this another successful draft for the Dragons and I tend to agree. So, without further ado, lets have a deeper look at who these guys are and then see how it affects the current roster.
1, Takaya Ishikawa (Toho High School) Infielder
Name: 石川昂弥 Birthdate: 22nd June 2001 Birthplace: Handa, Aichi Prefecture Height: 185cm (6'1") Weight: 87kg (191lb) Bats: Right Throws: Right Batter Type: Power hitter Baserunning: 50m in 6.3 seconds
Takaya Ishikawa is a special player. The highest rated hitter in his class, he lead his high school almost single handedly to victory in the Spring Senbastsu Koshien tournament. While he was unable to repeat those heroics for the Summer tournament, Ishikawa maintained his stock throughout the year to be a contested first round pick at the draft. The Dragons have picked up a potential key cog for the team's line-up for the long-term and arguable someone that could grow alongside Akira Neo. Ishikawa wanted to come to the Dragons which only makes the story sweeter. A third-baseman, Ishikawa will have his work cut out for him to make an immediate impact with Shuhei Takahashi blocking his path, but the sky is the limit for one of the first high quality power hitting talents that Dragons have gone after since the aforementioned Shuhei.
Ishikawa was born in Handa city on the Chita peninsula, south of Nagoya city. When he was in Grade 6, Ishikawa was selected for Dragons Jr not unlike a certain Akira Neo. He attended Kamezaki Junior High School where he played short for Aichi Chita Boys. He was later selected for NOMO Japan where he travelled to the United States as part of a camp in his senior year of junior high.
After entering the prestigious Toho High School baseball program, Ishikawa found himself on the bench in the 2017 Spring Senbatsu tournament. He was able to force himself into the lineup in that year's Tokai tournament fielding at short. Some growing pains would limit his next participation to some pinch-hitting appearances in the Summer Aichi Prefectural tournament. From Fall however, Ishikawa secured his spot at third-base and fourth in the line-up where he went 14-6 and hit two homeruns in the Tokai Regional tournament.
His national debut in the Spring Senbatsu of 2018 didn't end as he would have liked going 4-0 where his team was bundled out in the first round by Hanamaki East (Iwate), 5-3. In the summer qualifiers however, Ishikawa returned with a vengeance hitting .737 with 1 homer and 11 RBIs. In fall, Ishikawa's rise continued as he captained his side to their first Tokai regional title in 3 years. As the team's ace he clocked 144 km/h, hitting .636 with an OPS of 1.744.
A return to the Spring Senbatsu in 2019 saw Ishikawa lead his team to it's first national title in 30 years as he registered 5 wins from the mound while hitting 3 homeruns. This brought Ishikawa national attention and no doubt upped his value at the draft.
Ishikawa is a power-hitter with 55 homeruns in his high school career. To give you an idea, this puts him in the company of Takeshi Yamasaki (56), Shohei Otani (56) and Takahiro Okada (55). He also has more homers than Yoshiharu Maru (49) and the Dragons own Nobumasa Fukukda (49). While it perhaps doesn't mean a lot, it is illustrious company to be amongst in any case.
Hitting to right-centre is his strength and he is superb at hitting anything pitched outside. In terms of arm strength, he can throw 120m (393ft) and is marked at reaching first base at around 4.3 to 4.4 seconds.
Scouts Japan over have been effusive in their praise for Ishikawa.
Akinobu Shimizu - Chunichi Scout
"He (Ishikawa) has an effortless swing and is an expert at connecting bat on ball. He particularly has the skills to pull the ball while his defense and arm are very solid."
Yukio Matsunaga - Chunichi Head of Recruitment
"I never had the impression that he swung at the first ball, but since joining the national team, I've noticed he wants to get after the ball more proactively"
Shinichi Kondo - Chunichi Scout
"His swing is better with a wooden bat. The swing is clean and he has adapted well"
Tsuyoshi Yoda's comments have been largely publicised but has said he hopes Ishikawa will be the slugger the team needs in the future forming the core of the order. He has also said that he'd like to see Ishikawa up close at the 2020 Spring Camp but fell short of confirming his invitation to the 1-gun camp.
Over the course of his competitive career, Ishikawa has a ridiculous slash line. 40 games, .469/.574/.938. An OPS of 1.512! There is of course a long way to go before Ishikawa replicates that at the professional level but it's an incredible achievement on it's own.
Upon being selected, Ishikawa announced his desire to slam 30 dingers in a season at the Nagoya Dome while also declaring he was going after triple-three honors .
Some would say that Ishikawa is a luxury pick. And he is but his selection gives the Dragons significant organisational depth. It also means that come the future, the left side of the diamond should all but be wrapped up by Ishikawa and Neo. While Ishikawa won't contribute immediately, he doesn't have to. Shuhei proved last year he is more than capable as both a leader and as a productive bat, so there's no urgency just yet. What I would like to see is maybe Ishikawa getting some reps at DH when interleague rolls around if he's to see any action. At the very least, he'll be battling it out with Masami Ishigaki for reps at third base on the farm.
Ishikawa will be among plenty of friends though as Kento Fujishima, Taisuke Maruyama and Kenta Mark Ishida are all his school seniors with all 4 players having been Toho's ace at some point or another.
A pick that we have a few years to go before we get super excited about, Ishikawa is a big piece in rebuilding the legacy of the Dragons on the field and in the community.
Name: 橋本侑樹 Birthdate: 8th January 1998 Birthplace: Takahama town, Fukui Prefecture Height: 183cm (6'0") Weight: 72kg (158lb) High School: Nihon University Ogaki High School Bats: Left Throws: Left Max Velocity: 152 km/h (94 mp/h) Pitches: Fourseam, slider, forkball
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Osaka Commercial University's MVP southpaw pitcher was selected second overall for the Dragons. Hashimoto adds depth to the Dragons left-handed options particularly on the younger end of the scale. Arguably someone who could make a contribution next year, it will be interesting to see how management sees him; as either a starter or a reliever.
Hashimoto is another born within just about what you'd call the Dragons catchment in Fukui Prefecture on the Japan Sea. He went to Takahama Junior High while playing for Wakasa Takahama Boys.
He moved south to Gifu prefecture for high school, attending Nihon University Ogaki High School, a favourite alma mater among Dragons players, where he was assigned as the team's closer. He played at the summer Koshien in his first year pitching only one inning for 3 runs. In his second year, due to an injury, he had to sit out but he returned in his third year to help his team reach the semi-finals of the summer qualifiers.
He would enter Osaka Commercial University in 2016 where he would immediately make a mark in the spring league. Over 7 seasons (fall and spring) Hashimoto had a 9-4 record over 34 games for a 2.64 ERA and a 9.79 SO/9. It was in fall of 2017 however that Hashimoto would capture MVP honours with a 3-0 record and a 1.75 ERA. In 2019, Hashimoto continued to show off his pedigree by pitching the first Kansai League no-hitter since Hiroshi Kobayashi in 2010 making him on the 9th pitcher to achieve the feat.
Mechanically, Hashimoto throws from a 3/4 slot. He has a quick toss from the set-up position with a small take-back. He normally pitches his fastball in the early 140s while his slider sits at around 120km/h. He also hold a 130km/h forkball he uses against right-handed hitters.
Largely under the radar, here's what the scouts had to say:
Masamichi Yamamoto - Chunichi Scout
"A lefty that throws a max 152 km/h. He throws across the batters with a release form that's hard to make out. He' s a power pitcher that can throw a slider, change-up and forkball"
Yukio Matsunaga - Chunichi Head of Recruitment
"With that fastball and that rich mix of breaking balls, he's no doubt a top class lefty"
Masahiro Takumi - Orix Scout "The spin on his fastball is an attraction"
Hashimoto has already voiced his intention to learn from fellow no-hitting lefty, Yudai Ono. At college he was apparently taught by his manager to always think he was pitching at a 3-0 count to help him throw strikes. Hashimoto has also said that he feels hardened by the pressure of having played university ball and feels that his sales point is keeping calm under pressure.
Hashimoto will give the Dragons more left handed options most likely in the rotation. Right now the team has 3 reliable options in-house options in Shotaro Kasahara, Yudai Ono and Shinnosuke Ogasawara so adding in another possibility as cover is a wise choice. Ono also is getting older at 31, so a pitcher that will likely be coming into his prime when the other is on the out, seems like a wise choice too.
At 22, there's still a long future ahead for Hashimoto but he does add to a growing, younger pitching staff that the Dragons have been cultivating over the past 3-4 drafts.
3. Yuichiro Okano (Toshiba) Right-handed pitcher
Name: 岡野祐一郎 Birthdate: 16th April 1994 Birthplace: Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture Height: 180cm (5'11") Weight: 85kg (187lb) High School: Seiko Gakuen High School College: Aoyama Gakuin University Bats: Right Throws: Right Max Velocity: 149 km/h (92 mp/h) Pitches: Fourseam, slider, cutter, two-seam, curveball, forkball
Blessed with an armory of off speed and breaking pitches, Okano is a polished, battling pitcher who has served as the ace for his Toshiba team this season. A late bloomer, at 26 years old next year, Okano will be expected to slot straight into the first team bullpen or rotation. Adding to a large group of just about reaching their peak pitchers with the Dragons, Okano should add more and more competition to spots on the mound particularly considering the lack of good right-handed options available.
Okano was born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi in Japan's northern Tohoku region. He started playing baseball in his 3rd year of elementary school and was part of the Ishinomaki Chuo Seniors baseball team while studying at Kadonowaki Junior High.
He started his high school career at Seiko Gakuen High School where he immediately made the bench as a reliever. In fall of his second year, Okano pitched 59 innings for 6 earned runs at a 0.15 ERA to help his team to victory in the Tohoku regional tournament. He was also able to throw 7 complete games including 4 CGSOs over 9 games. In his third year, at the 2012 spring Senbatsu tournament, Okano threw a 5SO complete game shutout against Tottori High school in the first round. However he would be sent reeling against Yokohama where he gave up 7 runs in the second round. Following the tournament, Okano worked on his control and once again led his team from the mound in the summer Tohoku regional tournament but this time falling short of qualifying for the summer Koshien. He was however picked for the U-18 Japan team participating in the World Cup.
Okano would later skip the draft to go to Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo where he made his first appearance in spring against Komazawa University where he pitched 2.2 innings in relief as winning pitcher. In his second year, he was the starting day pitcher in the spring league where he threw a 1 run complete game.
Throughout his time at university, Okano pitched in 41 games for a 10-16 record over 238.1 innings and a 2.23 ERA.
In 2017, Okano would move into the industrial leagues with Toshiba and was an immediate contributor once more. He soldified his spot in the rotation and threw his first complete game against Nippon Seitetsu Hirohata in the Kyushu tournament. After defeating JX-ENEOS with another complete game shut-out, Okano led his team to their 9th straight qualification for the Inter-City tournament.
He started in the quarter and semi-finals and pitched 15 innings for 5 earned runs over the two games. He was subsequently selected for the JABA selection team in the Taiwan Asian Winter League where he took the most strike-outs in the tournament with 38K in 28 innings. He was also selected for the Japanese national team at the 2018 Asia Games where he started two games including the semi-final against Taiwan.
Okano is another that throws from the three-quarter slot. His has a soft follow through which gives him up to a 149 km/h velocity. He normally sits in the early 140s. He has a fastball that generates spin that he pairs with a 120km/h slider, 130km/h cutter, 130 km/h two-seam and 130km/h forkball. The forkball is his main strikeout taking delivery while he also generates a lot of grounders.
Okano was left unselected at last year's draft but he played alongside Akiyoshi Katsuno and the Tigers' Koji Chikamoto and Seiya Kinami at the Asian games last year.
Here's what the scouts have to say about him:
Yoshio Koyama - Chunichi Scout
"At each tournament he's left behind solid numbers. He doesn't have big ups and downs with his performances. He's a guy that could be in the rotation all year round"
Takayuki Saito - Swallows Scout "I've never seen him throw away a game. From the 1st to the last inning, he's the same speed but with runners on he steps up a gear. It just shows that velocity isn't everything."
Toshihiko Sonada - Carp Chief Scout "He's one of the few industrial league pitchers this year that could make an immediate contribution. He has the kind of solid approach that could see him contribute as either a starter or a reliever"
Okano was once again selected for the JABA Taiwan Winter League team, but commented that "as I didn't get selected last year, I'm honestly happy. My image of the Dragons is one of younger pitchers contributing a lot so I want to do my best. My best point is my ability to get out of bad situations. I just want to do what I can to add wins for the team."
Okano is by far the most ready to go talent of the draftees. All going well, he could contribute to the starting rotation from day one. It will be interesting to see how Yoda wants to use him. Kazuki Yoshimi and Daisuke Yamai have continued to fall down the pecking order. Yuya Yanagi is currently the only right hander that kept his place in the rotation all year. Takumi Yamamoto, Tatsuya Shimizu and Kodai Umetsu all otherwise shouldered the burden at different parts of the season so someone like Okano who could just slip right in, could definitely help the team's push into the top 3 places next year.
4. Yuya Gunji (Keio University) Catcher
Name: 郡司裕也 Birthdate: 27 December 1997 Birthplace: Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture Height: 180cm (5'11") Weight: 86kg (189lb) High School: Sendai Ikuei High School Bats: Right Throws: Right Baserunning: 50m in 6.1 seconds Pop Time: Home to second in 2 seconds
Chatter before the draft speculated the Dragons were after a young catcher to challenge Kota Ishibashi to the long-term catching mantle with the team. In Yuya Gunji the team have captured an all-round good looking catcher who can hit for power, lead a game and has a relatively strong arm. One of many Dragons catchers in the past to come through the Tokyo Big6 University League, Gunji will be right in the mix of it from day one.
Gunji was born in Ichihara on the Tokyo bay side of Chiba prefecture. He started playing baseball in year 2 while at Mizunoe Elementary. While at Chiharadai South Junior High, Gunji played for Chiba City Senior. In 2012, he helped his team to a national championship win.
He was accepted to the prestigious Sendai Ikuei High School program and sat on the bench for his first year. In his second year, he created a battery with former Buffaloes pitcher, Sena Sato where he helped his team to victory at the 2014 Jingu tournament. Gunji was largely used at 4th in the line-up for his clutch hitting and power where he hit .475 over 26 plate appearances. In the following year's Senbatsu and summer Koshien, Gunji started all 8 games and was part of the team that reached the semi-finals for the first time in 26 years in summer. In the final, Gunji squared up against then Tokai Sagami High school ace, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, where despite hitting an RBI, ultimately couldn't lead his team to victory. He would later pull on the mask for all of Sena Sato's starts in the U-18 World Cup and helped his team to their first shut-out win against the United States in 11 years.
Gunji became a first team regular behind the plate from fall of his first year at Keio University. He provided impressive game leading skills to 2016 #1 pick for the Carp, Takuya Kato, aiding him to no-hit Tokyo University on opening day. During his time at college, his batting was held in high regard as he made the Best 9 in Spring 2018. From 2019, Gunji was made captain of Keio where he hit .275/.420/.375 in the spring. Over the course of his college career, Gunji has hit .285, 9 homeruns and 46RBIs. 2 of those homeruns have come off the pitching of Hiroshima Carp's first pick in 2019, Masato Morishita.
Gunji is considered a balanced catcher. A right-handed batter that can spray the ball across the park for distance from a full-swing. Known for his clutch-hitting, his ability to hit the ball to right-field is considered one of his talents. His game calling from behind the plate is professional and has a relatively strong arm. From home to first base, he has been clocked at 4.5 seconds.
Here's what the scouts say:
Shinichi Kondo - Chunichi Scout "He looks at everything carefully and has a very high potential with his game calling. His hitting is also one of his good points and he provides leadership"
Akira Yonemura - Chunichi Chief Scout "We rate him based on how he leads pitchers and how he gets out of a pinch. During his time at high school he was a straight-A student, so we rate that as well"
Fumitoshi Takano - Eagles Scout "He is really good in clutch situations. During the game his returns are fast and he has the power to be picked up on just as a university level catcher."
Gunji recently met with the scouting staff where he said "my sales point is my lead and game calling as well as signs throughout the entire game as well as communication. These things are hard to see with the naked eye, but try to look out for these things too." Gunji also made his goal to be with the first-team on opening day. In another more interesting side of things, he is writing his final year thesis on Pawapuro, a popular baseball game in Japan, trying to find out if those who play the game are good at baseball and if there are any other notable correlations.
Gunji quite easily comes in and replaces the released Shota Sugiyama. He also is still of a young age meaning he'll be able to challenge Kota Ishibashi for the future mask but also just about be ready to try and challenge for a position behind the plate almost immediately. I'm slightly concerned that Gunji will take away development time from Ishibashi, but perhaps the competition will push both of them to be better players.
5. Yuki Okabayashi (Komono High School) Right-handed pitcher
Name: 岡林祐樹 Birthdate: 22nd February 2002 Birthplace: Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture Height: 177cm (5'8") Weight: 73kg (160lb) Bats: Left Throws: Right Max Velocity: 153 km/h (95 mp/h) Pitches: Fourseam, slider, forkball, curve, change-up
As per usual, 5th pick was used for a backyard talent with the Matsusaka born fireballer, Okabayashi being picked up. A popular pick among fans, while diminutive, packs a punch with a fastball topping out in the early 150 km/h range. Another high school arm, Okabayashi adds further stocks to the growing young brigade of pitching talent being collected by Yoda and his team.
Born in Matsusaka, Mie prefecture, Okabayashi started playing baseball in grade 2 following the influence of his older brother, now Carp development player, Tsubasa. He joined Matsusaka Umemura Senior while at Kubo Junior High where he helped his team to the top 16 of the national tournament. Okabayashi was selected to be apart of the Toyota squad that won the 2016 Taipei International tournament.
Okabayashi started on the bench at Komono High School but would debut against Eishin Hight School in the Mie prefectural tournament in a perfect 3K inning in relief. From 2018, Okabayashi was back-up to Norihiko Tanaka (now at Hiroshima) and showed off in the spring agasint Shirayama High School with 12Ks for only one hit. In the following Summer, Okabayashi clocked a personal best 148 km/h but eventually fell 3-4 to eventual champions Shirayama with his team exiting at the round of 16. From fall of that year however, he became the team's main pitcher where he K'd his team to victory in the prefectural tournament taking 40K over 30 innings for only 3 earned runs. In the Tokai regional tournaments, he would once again improve velocity with a 149 km/h showing against Chukyo Gakuin High school who would eventually dump out his team. Focused to improve his control, Okabayashi looked to improve his form by raising his glove higher. As a result he was able to throw 152 km/h in the first game of the summer prefectural tournament.
Okabayashi has little to no wind-up and relies on a quick motion of his arms
followed by a quick follow through to generate his velocity. He usually pitches in the mid 140s while also throwing a slider in the 120s. Okabayashi can also hit as he has 22 high school homeruns where he hit from the number 4 position from his second year at high school.
What do the scouts say:
Akinobu Shimizu - Chunichi scout "His max 152 km/h velo and sharp turning slider are very appealing. Given his athleticism, I also rate his ability with the bat. He has very natural flexibility."
Akimitsu Ito - Swallows Head of Recruitment
"In the first (tournament) match he tried a bit too hard, but you can't do much about that. There aren't that many power pitchers, so he's one to look out for."
Takahiro Aoki - Giant scout
"Just rolling his arm like that is great. His batting and running look good too."
Upon being selected Okabayashi said he was "relieved but it woke me up. It's a hard world to go into so I want to take it one ball at a time, maintaining my hunger." As a pitcher, he said he wants to "take the title for most wins and become a pitcher that the team can trust to put out there."
According to some sources, Okabayashi could be used in a two-way role given the vast exodus of position players.This of course will be left up to the player himself
Okabayashi gives us more organisational depth. I'm concerned that the heat he's throwing at his age might be a problem, but given his natural athleticism, hopefully he won't be on the sidelines too often. It will be interesting to see if the 2-way option actually goes through, but if not, I could see Okabayashi maybe projecting to be a set-up man.
6. Ryushin Takeuchi (Sapporo Sousei High School) Right-handed pitcher
Name: 竹内龍臣 Birthdate: 11th December 2001 Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture Height: 178cm (5'8") Weight: 80kg (176lb) Bats: Right Throws: Right Max Velocity: 147 km/h (91 mp/h) Pitches: Fourseam, slider, forkball, curve, change-up, two-seam
Well, this one took me off guard. A stocky pitcher from Sapporo, Takeuchi is a pick I don't think many saw coming. Another pick from Tomoya Yagi that looks like it could be a diamond in the rough. Under the tutelage of a former Dragons player in Seiji Enda, Takeuchi apparently had dreams of playing for the Dragons some day growing up watching the likes of Masahiro Araki and Hirokazu Ibata in their heyday.
Born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Takeuchi started playing baseball in grade 2. He played for JBC Sapporo while at Arakawa Junior High school.
Up until the second year of his high schooling, he hadn't put up any statistics of note but in the off-season he got stuck into weight training and gained 15 kilograms where he was able to increase his velocity by 7 km/h to 140 km/h. Following that he was able to increase to 145km/h in May and then 147 km/h in July. His rapid rise in velocity caught the attention of pro clubs as a result. In the summer of 2019, Takeuchi pitched 19 innings in relief helping his team to the quarter finals. While he gave up 22 hits, he was also able to take 21 strikeouts for a 9.95 SO/9. In the southern Hokkaido tournament, he threw a complete game against Shiriuchi High School in a 3-2 win, the first time Sousei had passed the first round in 18 years.
From the set-up position, he start movement, stops slightly before bringing his
weight forward with a quick release.
What do the scouts say about him:
Tomoya Yagi - Chunichi scout
"He has a nice throw. His pitch offerings are well balanced"
Takeuchi becomes the first pro baseballer from Sapporo Sousei High School. He's said to be relieved to have been selected and has big dreams of becoming a major leaguer. He has also said he wants to make it to the first team as soon as possible.
Takeuchi's massive rise of putting on 37 km/h of velocity from starting high school to finishing it is quite amazing. It reminds me of Shotaro Kasahara who also put on 10 km/h after starting university. Players that have the desire to grow like this are valuable for teams and I wish Takeuchi all the best. I don't expect too much of him but there might be a future in him for some relief innings. Similar type of pick to Kenshin Kakikoshi last year.
Name: 松田亘哲 Birthdate: 17th May 1997 Birthplace: Iwakura, Aichi Prefecture Height: 176cm (5'7") Weight: 83kg (182lb) High School: Konan High School Bats: Left Throws: Left Max Velocity: 148 km/h (92 mp/h) Pitches: Fourseam, slider,vcutter, curve, change-up
The narrative! Oh the narrative that Matsuda bring. I don't know if this is a pick to sell papers, but if it wasn't it's certainly a pleasant flow on. Much like Kohei Miyadai, who was drafted from the academically prestigious Tokyo University by the Fighters in 2017, Matsuda is a player in a similar vane coming from the academically prestigious Nagoya University. Both Nagoya and Tokyo are not known for their baseball teams however, it is perhaps Nagoya University, who play in the 3rd division of the Aichi College Baseball League, that have more surprisingly contributed to professional baseball. More astonishingly, Matsuda didn't even play baseball in high school. He played volleyball for 3 years before picking up baseball again in college. THE NARRATIVE, PEOPLE!
Already fans are lining up at erstwhile empty games for Nagoya U trying to ogle their new guy and to be honest, his journey warrants a bit of inspection. Also, it wasn't just the Dragons that were interested in him either....
Matsuda was born in Iwakura, Aichi prefecture where he started playing baseball in grade 1. He played for Komaki JBC while at Iwakura Junior High School. At Konan High School, Matsuda turned away from baseball and played 3 years in the school's volley ball club.
After entering Nagoya University, Matsuda took up baseball again. From his first year he served as a reliever but from fall of his second year he became the team's main starter. In his second game as starter, Matsuda threw a complete game shut out against Doho University. The following spring, he threw 8 innings for two runs against Nagoya Commercial University in a good showing.
Matsuda and his team have been caught between the 2nd and 3rd division of Aichi's college baseball league where his best result so far has been a 5th place finish in the second league of fall 2017.
It was after hitting 148 km/h that Matsuda started attracting scouts and it is this fourseam delivery that is his most appealing point. Leading up to the draft up to 7 clubs had been scouting him but it was the Dragons that picked him up.
His black rimmed glasses are seen somewhat as a trademark.
What do the scouts say:
Akinobu Shimizu - Chunichi scout
"He's smart, and has the ability to think for himself. He's come along quite nicely"
Tomofumi Matsumoto - Carp scout
"He's appealing, that's why so many scouts are coming to see him. The spin on his fastball is good and he delivers off-speed pitches too. "
Seiya Kumazaki - Fighters scout "He's done really well to get noticed by so many given he has no high school baseball experience."
Upon becoming the first ever pro baseballer to be selected from Nagoya University, Matsuda said he was "happy, but it's become a strange feeling. From here on in I'll be taking on players of a much higher level so I'd like to put in study time toward learning about batters timing, when to press as well as understanding my own limitations."
I find Matsuda a little more appealing than Takeuchi actually. I quite like the fact that he's a smart guy (he'll fit in well with Koji Fukutani) and that he was able to get to such a level without having those extra three years of development through high school. Given the level he's playing at though, it might be a very hard slog for him to make it to the top team or even on to the roster.
Concluding Notes
The team have gone very pitcher heavy. Given Yoda and Awano making use of almost everyone this year, perhaps this is a ploy to continue that bullpen management philosophy employed so successfully in 2019. The team future needs however remain the same as they have been for the last 3 years. There are two aging, star outfielders that will need replacing eventually. Yohei Oshima and Ryosuke Hirata will leave big ol' gaping holes if they experience any big downturn. Oshima looks set to sign an extension while Hirata still has a few years before he will truly be going south, maybe it's not as big of a concern as once thought. Kengo Takeda's addition through the trade market this year has also provided us with stop-gap solution to centre-field so perhaps the team will manage.
There's a good mix of potential contributors for 2020 with a lot for the future. Hashimoto, Gunji and Okano all look like they could make a splash next year. Ishikawa, Okabayashi, Takeuchi and Matsuda on the other hand look like they'll spend the majority of the year picking up experience under Toru Nimura's watchful eye on the farm.
Overall, this was a draft where the Dragons could go after whoever they wanted with no specific needs requiring filling. The outfield question will however remain for a while to come though. Hopefully the Dragons are keeping a keen eye on Shota Morishita at Chuo University like I am to replace Hirata one day.
In the end, in terms of the talent gathered. There's not much to complain about. The Dragons took 7 players with varying skills and gifts that could all do a job. Spring camp can't come soon enough!
* Acknowledgement: Much of the information about player histories leading up the the draft was sourced from the Japanese language resource ドラフト・レポート whom I recommend for any information on Japanese prospects. Much of the player histories are translations and paraphrases of the player profile pages available on the website.
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