Toshiya Okada - Pitcher - Chiben Wakayama High School
DOB : 12/5/91 
age : 17
throws / hits : L / L
height cm : 181
weight kg : 69
height inch : 71.3 Chunichi Dragons
weight lbs : 152.1 round 1
I have been touting Toshiya Okada for two years. He took over pitching duties for Japanese high school power house Chiben when he was 15 and took them to Senbatsu and Koshien several times. He is a work horse but his lankiness is a slight concern. He has always been small but packs a serious punch with his throws. Okada mixes a slurve with a fast breaking slider to go with his 144km fastball. Mentally Okada controls games with his pitch selection and has very nice off-speed pitches as well. Okada is ready for the pros already, and he also has a lot of room to improve. I would like to see him add velocity to his fastball, work a little more on his command and add weight to his toothpick frame. As far as mechanics and feel for the game, he is ready for NPB now.
Outlook: Chunichi’s 3rd starter now is Asakura. Okada is better than Asakura today, and Read More→
Japanese Baseball NPB Draft Analysis - Chunichi Dragons
By · CommentsTeam Analysis - Chunichi Dragons
pitching out of 12 teams 3rd record 81-62-1
hitting out of 12 teams 3rd placed 2nd of 6
pitching potential B+ draft grade B
hitting potential C
The Chunichi Dragons entered the draft with a solid, but not dazzling, team. Holes to fill included the infield corners, catcher and perhaps depth at middle relief and another starting pitcher. In 2009, Chunichi boasted a powerful 1-2 starting combination in Chen and Yoshimi, plus league-leading closer Iwase and dependable middle relief from the likes of Asao and company. On the hitting side, Chunichi struck gold last year drafting Nomoto, who was a solid regular starting rookie. With the first pick, Chunichi took Toshiya Okada from Chiben Wakayama high School. A small pitcher but one who absolutely dominated in high school and was an iron man. Chunichi also snagged the portly Ryoji Nakata, who finished his Asia University playing career with a 100 RBI season. They also took two catchers, two more development pitchers and a handful of potentially average outfielders. Chunichi filled holes and built depth at needed areas. I feel at least three of these picks will be solid starters for the Dragons soon.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently an intern for a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site and has authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly” ( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Tomohiro Tsuchiya - Pitcher - City Light Okayama
DOB : 8/18/85 
age : 24
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 178
weight kg : 70
height inch : 70.1 Rakuten Golden Eagles
weight lbs : 154.3 round 5
Tomohiro Tsuchiya has a very nice slider but he is undersized and does not have much more room to develop. He is fairly good at most things and not great at anything. He also throws a cutter, change and curve, but none of them are extremely good. His velocity hovers around 142km. On the good side, Tsuchiya is an iron man who can eat up tons of innings with his stamina. He is not a dominator, note even at the industrial league level. I do not see him developing into anything more than an average pitcher who can perhaps spot start here or there. That is if he is lucky enough to make a pro roster.
Outlook: Rakuten is taking a chance that this rounded pitcher can develop into an expert at something. Read More→
Kazuya Takahori - Pitcher - Mitsubishi Okazaki
DOB : 6/11/87
age : 22
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 183
weight kg : 70
height inch : 72.0 Rakuten Golden Eagles
weight lbs : 154.3 round 4
Kazuya Takahori is a forkball pitcher who can also put zip on his velocity and has nice life on his fastball. He hails from the industrial league, but is still only 22 years old. Currently, his only weak point is his command. He can be slightly off target at times but overall he is fairly polished and accomplished with a good set of pitches. He also has the smarts to pace a game and is good at the strategic part of pitching. Takahori is a strikeout artist, K-ing batters by going after them aggressively. He uses his body very well and his slider drops off right before the batter. Takahori feel under the radar but could end up being Rakuten’s most valuable and best pitcher in this draft.
Outlook: Takahori will replace the struggling Arime in middle relief by the latest 2012. He still needs to develop his off-speed pitches better and work on his placement a bit, but he is not far from being one of the more reliable middle relief pitchers in Japanese pro baseball. A different style, but I see him as a reliable rock in relief like Yomiuri’s Yamaguchi. Takahori can go long in relief or short as a set-up man. He can also spot start as a 5th or 6th starter. This is Rakuten’s best pick of the draft and he is a better pitcher than their #1 pick Tomura. I would not even be surprised to see Takahori play in 2010, he is already polished and almost ready.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently an intern for a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site and has authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly” ( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Shota Koseki - Catcher - Higashichikushi Gakuen HS
DOB : 9/6/91
age : 18
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 182
weight kg : 81
height inch : 71.7 Rakuten Golden Eagles
weight lbs : 178.6 round 3
Shota Koseki is a project, but has the potential to develop into an above average catcher at the NPB level. His fielding is more developed than his hitting, but he is not a liability at the plate. Koseki can hit for average as well as go long on occasion. His biggest weapon is his throwing. He can fire lasers to second base and get runners out as well as an average pro catcher. He is not a great runner and he makes an error here and there, but with time to develop Koseki can be a dependable fill-in or spot starter. Koseki is probably a year or two away from seeing real action in the pros, but I feel he will be an average to slightly above average NPB catcher.
Outlook: Catcher is actually a strength for Rakuten. Motohiro Shima is one of the better catcher in NPB and he is still only 26 years old. However, the Golden Eagles have absolutely nobody to back him up and taking a high school catcher with a pro throwing arm is not a bad move. I think Koseki is a year or two away from seeing action, but he has the potential to develop into a very dependable fill-in starter at the pro level. Koseki needs to work on his hitting and make less errors, but I think in time he will overcome his weaknesses and eventually play for the Golden Eagles come 2011 or 2012.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently an intern for a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site and has authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly” ( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Japanese High School Baseball Prospects To Watch In 2010
By · Comments
Konan High School (Okinawa) pitcher Yosuke Shimabukuro
Japanese High School Baseball Prospects To Watch
With the 2010 Senbatsu invitational Japanese high school baseball tournament just around the corner, it is time to look at the players to watch for this year. The following is a list of Japanese high school baseball top prospects appearing in the March 21 tournament.
1. Yosuke Shimabukuro- Konan high School (Okinawa), pitcher
10/24/92, 172cm, 68kg
Shimabukuro struck out 19 batters at Koshien last year in one game at 17 years old. He does not flame it, but he has a knack for getting Ks and can not be ignored.
2. Shinta Hifumi- Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa), pitcher
9/29/92, 185cm, 84kg
Hifumi has great size and is the darling of the Japanese scouts right now. He is a very good pitcher and I am looking forward to seeing him at Senbatsu in March.
3. Tomoya Matano- Hokusho High School (Hokkaido), pitcher
10/9/92, 186cm, 82km
Great size and currently dominating in Hokkaido. Hokkaido pitchers have a pattern of withering against national cometition so Senbatsu will be a good test to see if Matano si for real.
4. Daisuke Gomyo- Hanasaki Tokuei Hogh School (Saitama), pitcher
10/16/92, 181cm, 78kg
Gomyo is very talked about but I have not seen him dominate. Saitama is fair competition so March will be a good time to see him on a bigger stage.
5. Akinori Nagatomo- Tokai University Boyo High School (Chiba), pitcher
3/7/93, 173cm, 81kg
Nagatomo is fairly inexperienced but impressive in the snippets I have seen.
6. Haruki Nishikawa- Chiben Wakayama High School (Wakayama), SS
4/16/92, 180cm, 70kg
Nishikawa is talked about as being the #1 high school player taken in the 2010 draft in Ocotber. This is hsi first chance to play national competition.
7. Yoshitaka Isomura- Chukyodai Chukyo High School (Aichi), catcher
11/1/92, 178cm, 78kg
The best catcher prospect in Japan, Isomura is a rounded player who is dependable behind the plate and can go long with the bat as well.
The rest in no particular order:
Kohei Arihara - Koryo High School (Hiroshima), pitcher
8/11/92, 186cm, 90kg
Michiori Okabe - Teikyo High School (Tokyo), OF
6/4/92, 178cm, 80kg
Junpei Moritomo - Chukyodai Chukyo High School (Aichi), pitcher
3/13/93, 177cm, 74kg
Ken Okamoto - Kobe Int’l University High School (Hyogo), pitcher
10/29/92, 177cm, 76kg
Sachiya Yamasaki - Nihon University 3 High School, 1B
9/9/92, 185cm, 82kg
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently an intern for a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site and has authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly” ( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Tetsuro Nishida - Shortstop - Kansai University High School
DOB : 9/4/91
age : 18
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 180
weight kg : 76
height inch : 70.9 Rakuten Golden Eagles
weight lbs : 167.6 round 2
Tetsuro Nishida is a very balanced and solid hitter and position player. He has a great feel for the game and a great attitude. His balance and use of his weight are excellent and he has a fast swing with solid mechanics. Nishida should transition well to the pro game, but he is not ready yet. His fielding might be ready for the pro level, but his hitting needs some work. Nishida needs to use his strength and make more contact with the ball. Instead of trying to hit homeruns, he needs to practice just making contact and the balls will go long naturally. He has the attitude and skills to succeed as a shortstop in NPB who can hit, has nice power and is a trusty fielder.
Outlook: Current Rakuten shortstop Naoto Watanabe is Read More→
Kenji Tomura - Pitcher - Rikkio University
DOB : 10/20/87
age : 22
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 185
weight kg : 77
height inch : 72.8 Rakuten Golden Eagles
weight lbs : 169.8 round 1
Kenji Tomura is a wild pitcher who lacks command on his pitches. He is a flame thrower who has little control. Over the later part of his college career, he started to develop the skill of honing in his velocity. I saw Tomura give up far too many 6-run and 5-run innings to say this is a good pick. Tomura benefited from playing in the Tokyo 6 University league, so he has years of facing top competition and could be considered game-ready by some. Tomura throws 153km and adds a vertical slider and a forkball to his arsenal. He needs to work on being more consistent and pitching instead of throwing. I do not like this pick at this spot.
Outlook: The Rakuten Golden Eagles Read More→
Team Analysis - Rakuten Golden Eagles
pitching out of 12 teams 2nd record 70-66-1
hitting out of 12 teams 6th placed 2nd of 6
pitching potential A draft grade C
hitting potential C
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have arguably the best 1-2 pitchers in the rotation in Masahiro Tanaka and Hisashi Iwakuma. Both are top level pitchers in NPB. In 2009 the closer role was split between Aoyama and Fukumori, with Fukumori poised to take over the role full time in 2010. Darrell Rasner and Ryohei Isaka fill out the rotation and middle relief duty goes to Kanehisa Arime. Arime is a not so glaring hole to fill. On the hitting side, 1B is a hole that needs to be filled but no other weak links to speak of. Outfiled is a position that eventually could be a potential hole to fill. Rakuten picked up pitchers, and infielder and a catcher in the draft, filling potential holes nicely, but I have a problem with who they selected. First round pick pitcher Kenji Tomura from Rikkio University is wild and has spurts of horrible innings. He does have experience playing against top-level college competition, but he is erratic and inconsistent. The other picks were solid but not outstanding. I like the picking up of catcher Shota Koseki to back up the young and talented Motohiro Shima.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently an intern for a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in Bloomberg, The New York Times and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site and has authored several articles including “The Kuroda Index” and “Yu Darvish: A 315 Pitch Scouting Report.”
Each year Brandon publishes the “Japan Baseball News Weekly” ( http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1543 ) with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
Brandon Siefken’s Japanese baseball research archive has now been added to Japan Baseball News. Just click this link to see the page:
http://www.japanbaseballnews.com/?page_id=1651
You can also click the Baseball81 image to the right. This research includes the 315 pitch plot scouting report of Yu Darvish as well as the Kuroda Index report projecting Japanese pitchers to MLB. A Masahiro Tanaka pitch plot report is also available.
More research being added continuously.
