Are you getting sick of waiting for MLB to come back and want to get into NPB? But every time you try to watch a game you’re not sure who you should watch for? I was just like you when I was first getting into the NPB. It can understandably feel frustrating and stressful to try and watch a sport that you know nothing about. But hopefully this list will help you learn some names to follow and watch for as you watch. Especially with the season already underway there is no better time to get into Japanese baseball.
Here are my players to watch for in the NPB for the 2020 season (Pacific League edition):
The Central League edition will be coming out in a few more days after this, so please stay tuned.
Best Player: (Self-explanatory)
MLB Arrival: (Player who has asked to be posted already or has good enough potential to make MLB radars)
Best Prospect: (Also Self-Explanatory)
Quick Note:
The NPB can be assessed as “Quad-A” where the talent is often better than what would be at the Triple-A level but clearly not to the same level of talent as the best of the MLB. However, the top of the NPB has a solid prospect to be successful in MLB. The play is fast and sometimes lower scoring but thanks to what seems to be a juiced ball this season, the home runs are plentiful and the offenses are feasting in 2020.
The stats used in this article should be considered similar to the Triple-A level. Players that make the jump to the majors from Japan tend to be about 30 years old because you must play nine full seasons in order to be an international free agent. However, thanks to the posting system these players can be listed by their team to see if they can get a contract offered to them by an MLB club. Just keep in mind that players that come as international free agents or wish to be posted are often posted later in their careers.
Also, the NPB draft takes place in the fall so kids drafted in 2019 have not played a season for their respective clubs.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks:
Best Player: Yuki Yanagita (柳田悠岐), OF, #9
The very powerful Yanagita is known for being one of the best players in Japan. “Gita” has been a major force in the lineup of the six-time title winners this decade. Although he missed time in 2019, a full and healthy 2020 could see him return to his prior stats where he slashed .352/.431/.661/36 HR/21 SB, real video game stuff. A personal favorite of mine, I love watching him play. Here is a home run that he hit earlier this month:
MLB Arrival: Carter Stewart Jr, RHP, #2
Many of the readers for this site will remember Stewart as the player who declined to sign with the Braves in the 2018 MLB Draft. Since then, Stewart has been playing with the SoftBank Hawks and been very impressive. He will likely stay on the farm till later as in recent appearances he has struggled. However, I still favor Stewart’s chances to make it back to the MLB. Although there are better and more proven players hitting free agency soon (Kodai Senga). SoftBank spends a lot of money to keep their team stacked and likely won’t be posting anytime soon. Meaning, Stewart has a better chance to make it back to the MLB once his contract ends in a few years.
Best Prospect: Kazuki Sugiyama (杉山 一樹), RHP, #40
Sugiyama recently threw for the first team and impressed. As well as have had showings this year of almost double-digit strikeouts on the farm. His fastball is usually around 154 km (~95.6) and is drawing potential ace hype, even being titled as “Senga II”. Although he still needs help with his secondary pitches, he is definitely a name to watch for when he reaches the top team.
Saitama Seibu Lions
Best Players:
Tomoya Mori (森 友哉), C, #10
Mori was PL MVP last year and the best catcher in Japan offensively. Mori is an unbelievably fun player to watch, whether through his abnormal stance and swing or his diminutive 5’6” stature. Mori slashed an incredible (.329/.413/.574) with 23 HR and helped Seibu to the Pacific League pennant in 2019. Another worthy mention would have to be slugger Hotaka Yamakawa.
Hotaka Yamakawa (山川穂高), 1B, #3
Yamakawa is known for hitting massive home runs, and a lot of them. Yamakawa is the defending 2x Pacific League Home Run Leader hitting 47 in 2018 and 43 in 2019. He’s already on a hot start this year with five home runs in the first nine games.
MLB Arrival: Tomoya Mori
This would be further down the line as he recently signed and is only 24 and it is rare to see players be posted at a fairly young age. However, Seibu has been pretty good with respecting players’ wishes to be posted to the MLB, as they have recently with Yusei Kikuchi and Kazuhisa Makita. This is of course if Mori would be interested in playing in the MLB down the line.
Best Prospect: Wataru Matsumoto (松本 航), RHP, #17
Although he is no longer a prospect after a solid rookie year, Matsumoto shines a bright spot on what is a not super exciting farm, as Seibu doesn’t have much behind him. Matsumoto succeeded last year with a 1.56 WHIP and 4.54 ERA in 85.1 IP. He hasn’t started amazing this year but it is too early to make a call on him just yet. Matsumoto uses three different fastballs: a four-seam, cutter, and two-seam. It averages around 88.8 mph and maxes out at 93.8 mph. He had hit 96 mph earlier in his career but since focusing as a starter has slowed in velocity. He also has thrown a slider, curve, and fork but at a much lower percent.
Chiba Lotte Marines
Best Player: Takashi Ogino (荻野 貴司), OF, #0
The long time vet Ogino has been a key piece in the Marines’ success. As of currently writing this, the Marines are now leading the Pacific League standings, and Ogino is a good part of that. In 2019, Ogino had his best year yet hitting .315/.371/.470 with a career-best 10 HR and 28 SB. Ogino excels on the bases becoming a nuisance and has a remarkable ability to dodge tags.
MLB Arrival: Ayumu Ishikawa (石川 歩), RHP, #12
Ishikawa has already expressed a desire to be posted at the end of the year. Could potentially see him next year if he has a good year. Ishikawa has a career ERA of 3.44 with 583 K in 862.1 IP. Ishikawa is a low velocity, craft styled pitcher that uses a sinker and cutter combo. His fastball averages around 90.7 mph, cutter at 83.7 mph, sinker is at 82 mph and curveball to round out the mix at 69 mph. He tends to heavily work away from right-handed hitters.
Best Prospect: Roki Sasaki (佐々木 朗希), RHP, #17
Sasaki is one of the biggest names out of the 2019 draft thanks to a very powerful arm. Sasaki hit 99.4mph twice this June. However, one major thing holding him back is a lack of accuracy, typical of arms that throw that fast. When he is on, it’s dominating stuff. When he’s off, it’s walks galore and sometimes wild pitches galore. Sasaki will start on the ichi-gun (first) team but only for training. No word on when he will get his chance in a game. Besides, Sasaki has electric stuff that when he can be accurate is dominating stuff.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Rakuten Eagles)
Best Players:
Takahiro Norimoto (則本 昂大), RHP, #14
Norimoto had signed a lengthy seven-year contract in 2019 after there was hype around him potentially being picked up by an MLB club as he had been public around his interest in playing in the MLB. However, he returned to Rakuten and declared that he was “Lifelong Rakuten”. Norimoto has been the Pacific League leader in strikeouts for the past 5 of 6 years. Norimoto throws a fastball that averages 92 mph, a slider as his main secondary with 23% usage at 135 (84), splitter, curve, and change.
Hideto Asamura (浅村 栄斗), 2B, #3
Asamura will be the key to the Eagle’s success as he is coming off of a strong first year with the Eagles. Asamura is a four-time Best Nine Award winner and was a major piece of the Seibu Lions’ success before signing with Rakuten. Asamura currently has been hot with five home runs and hitting .386 in 44 AB. Although Asamura didn’t hit as well for average as he has in the past, he has hit 30+ in the past two years and hit near .300 the majority of his career. He also has a very aesthetically pleasing swing:
MLB Arrival: Yuki Matsui (松井 裕樹), LHP, #1
Matsui has been the Eagles closer since 2015 but this year will be tasked with a starting role. However, Matsui fits better in the bullpen as he has shown a lack of stamina in his first two starts this year. Matsui uses a combo of a 95.6 mph heater that averages around 2600 RPM and good vertical break, he can tunnel these pitches well with a cutter/slider. He also throws a changeup and curveball. The thing that makes him extra enticing is his adoration for the statistical side of pitching, as he has spoken about what makes his fastball and offspeed pitches work through tunneling and rotational axes.
Best Prospect: Fumiya Kurokawa (黒川史陽), INF, #24
Although he may not make an appearance this year for the ichi-gun team, Kurokawa is highly touted as a second baseman with power. However, he did have appearances in practice and preseason games this year and some view him as being the closest to the first team. Kurokawa was the Eagles second round pick in the 2019 draft and is just 19 years old. A strong start on the farm could see him in Sendai, however, they would have to find a spot to put him as he is currently behind Asamura at 2nd. Rakuten has a solid DH in Stefan Romero and Jabari Blash as well.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
Best Prospect: Kensuke Kondo (近藤 健介), OF, #8
The 26 year old has been a more than solid hitter for the Fighters as they’ll need another good performance from him this year as they’re offense is not the strongest on paper. However, as of late their offense has performed much better than expected. Anyways, Kondoh is coming off a solid 2019 where he slashed .302/.400/.422 with 103 walks. Kondoh isn’t too much of a power hitter having only hit a season-best 9 home runs in 2018. Certainly doesn’t help that he plays in the massive Sapporo Dome, but expect him to hit and get on base a lot.
MLB Arrivals:
Both of these players listed have expressed interest in being posted at the end of the year. In a rebuilding year for N-H would be nice for them to make some extra cash for the future. As well as they have sold previous stars like Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani.
Kohei Arihara (有原 航平), RHP, #16
Arihara is coming off of a career year in 2019 where he finished with a 2.46 ERA and 161 K in 164.1 IP. His fastball reaches up to 95.7 mph but averages 91.6 mph. He also throws a changeup, cutter/slider, and forkball. He started to use the changeup more last season and it led to better results as he dropped the use of the cutter as well. The forkball works extremely well against right-handed hitters as it has a .069 BA against right-hand hitters. There also have been reports that multiple scouts from MLB teams showed up to his starts last season.
Haruki Nishikawa (西川 遥輝), OF, #7
Haruki Nishikawa is the other Fighter to recently come out and talk about his wishes to be posted, Nishikawa recently reached 1,000 career hits this year, and is off to a decent start of the year currently batting .308 at the time of this publishing. Nishikawa similar to Kondo doesn’t hit for power the majority of the time and is better suited as a lined drive and gap hitter. Although, he can turn on a pitch if the chance arises. Nishikawa is a good defender having won a Golden Glove in 2017 and 2018. In my personal opinion, Arihara has a better chance of getting an MLB contract out of the two and probably the favorite out of the ones already asking to be posted.
Best Prospect:s
Chusei Mannami (万波 中正), OF, #66
An athletic 6’3 210 with room to grow, Mannami has already shown some positives of growth this preseason. His and Kotaro Kiyomiya’s improvements are crucial for N-H’s future power as Sho Nakata, Fighter’s main source of power, is increasing in age. Mannami however, has present swing and miss issues as on the farm last year his SwStr% was 18.2% and K% was 36.3%. However, if he can replace that in home runs and improve in contact he will be a nice piece for a rebuild.
Yuki Nomura (野村 佑希), INF, #24
No other prospect for the Fighters has gotten off to a good start better than Nomura. After an impressive Fall and Spring, and now a sort of breakout game on July 2, where he hit his first career home run then followed it with a two-RBI hit to the wall for a walk-off winner. Nomura hit .245/.315/.363 on the farm last year and has shown flashes of an above-average hit tool and plus raw power when he can connect on pitches. Nomura is decent in the field but the bat is what is the most exciting about Nomura. With a full healthy year at the ichi-gun level, Nomura could grow into a solid player for Nippon-Ham.
Orix Buffaloes
Best Players:
Masataka Yoshida (吉田 正尚), OF, #34
One of the prettiest swings in the league. Fluid and powerful from the left side. He can be a solid defender as well making a play or two every now and then but is definitely better suited for a corner role. Yoshida is coming off of another solid 2019 as he continued another .300+ year. Yoshida slashed .322/.413/.543 with 29 HR last year. Yoshida has started off 2020 fairly slow but should pick it back up to being a top hitter as he’s had only one season below .300 as he currently has a career average of .314 over the past 4 years. Yoshida does have a bit of a longer wing but makes up for that with an excellent feel for the zone with a career K% of just 13.5% and nine more walks (216) than strikeouts (207) in his career. As well as great hand strength and bat speed that allows him to turn on pitches on the inner half.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (山本由伸), RHP, #18
If you follow Pitching Ninja on twitter you may have seen a clip of Yamamoto recently. His first start of 2020 started in a 10 K shutout appearance against Rakuten. Yamamoto excels on not missing pitches having a 2.43 career BB/9 and 1.05 WHIP over his 4 years of being a professional. In 2019 Yamamoto finished with 127 K and only 36 BB over 143 IP. Yamamoto throws his FB with a decent arm-side run to it at an average of 93 mph but can reach up to 96 mph. Cutter at 91 mph, Splitter at 88 mph. He also throws a massive knee-buckling “Ginoza curve” at 76 mph. A “Ginoza curve” (宜野座カーブ) if you’ve never seen it before is a certain way to throw a curveball where you’re essentially adding topspin on the ball with your index finger by twisting outwards at release instead of inside. This produces a massive dropping topspin on the pitch much more when compared to a normal curve.
MLB Arrival: Masataka Yoshida (吉田 正尚) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (山本由伸)
Buffaloes are currently dead last and have lost seven in a row as i'm writing this currently. They’ll want to keep these two stars for as long as possible.
Best Prospect: Ryo Ohta (太田 椋), INF, #31
Ohta was the Buffaloes’ number one draft pick in the 2018 draft and has been improving since. After a decent showing in this year’s preseason games and a good showing in the farm should see him on a struggling Buffaloes team. Ohta has shown strong power and a decent ability at shortstop. Ohta is currently hitting .270 this year on the farm leading the farm in hits and total bases through 10 games. However, Ohta has shown some hit and miss issues and that could hurt him at the next level. Expect him and Yuma Tongu (頓宮 裕真), C, #44, a power hitter that turned from third base to catcher last year, to compete for the ichi-gun team soon. Hopefully, with their progress, help turn around the Buffaloes season.
Thank You for making it this far in the article, this the start of more to come on NPB coverage here on Prospects Live. For clips, questions, and just general coverage of NPB, please follow me on twitter: @tom_mussa.
Photo Cred: Nikkan Sports - 足立雅史