Japanese Baseball NPB Draft Analysis - Yuji Arahari - Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Yuji Arahari - Catcher - Tokushima Indigo Socks

  DOB : 4/24/89  
  age : 20  
  throws / hits : R / R  
  height cm : 177  
  weight kg : 80  
  height inch : 69.7                Nippon Ham Fighters 
  weight lbs : 176.4                  round 6

Arahari comes from the Kyushu Island League independent league and has a lack of experience playing good competition. He has a great throwing arm but is a huge liability at the plate. Many aspects of Arahari’s game are still unknown but his potential is in his defensive play, not his offensive play. While he can go long once in a while, he will never be a hitter who can hit for average on a constant basis. Arahari’s chances to emerge as an even average catcher at the pro level are slim. He is too rough and lacks too many skills to develop into a regular catcher at the pro level.

Outlook: Tsuruoka and Oono currently hold down the Fighters catching duties but neither is overly impressive nor a huge liability. This was a nice spot to try and improve the catching position but Arahari is not going to replace Tsuruoka or Oono anytime soon if at all. While neither of the current starting catchers for the Fighters hit over .221 for average or had more than 29 RBIs, Arahari is not the answer for the future. Look for Arahari to develop in the farm leagues while the Fighters hope Oono can bring up his batting skills, as he seems the likely heir apparent for the position.

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” newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.