Japanese Baseball NPB Draft Analysis - Takehiro Fukuda - Yokohama BayStars

Takehiro Fukuda - Pitcher - Kagawa Olive Guyners
 
   DOB : 4/9/83  
   age : 26  
   throws / hits : R / R  
   height cm : 181  
   weight kg : 83  
   height inch : 71.3                 Yokohama BayStars 
   weight lbs : 183.0                   round 5

Takehiro Fukuda comes from the Kyushu Island independent league and is a polished pitcher with good size. Fukuda is balanced at most areas of pitching and especially has nice movement on his pitches. At 26 years old, there is not much room to develop and it is questionable if Fukuda has the stuff to make it in NPB. Fukuda throws a 148 km fastball and was both a starter and a closer in his Kyushu Island league career. Fukuda is a polished veteran who is tough and was a stand-out at the Island League level. The question is if Fukuda is good enough to play at a level that is frankly three or four notches above that. I do not think he has what it takes, especially given his age and lack of room for improvement or development. Fukuda is average at most things and superior at none.

Outlook: The BayStars take another chance on an unproven pitcher to help their tattered pitching staff. The Island League is not even close in comparison with NPB, so I do not see Fukuda transitioning well. Yokohama might want to test Fukuda at the NPB level right away. Look for Depending on how camp goes, look for Fukuda to make spot appearances in 2010 or 2011 in relief. If Fukuda does get his chance, look for some ugly outings while he has a hard time adjusting to the steep jump in talent he faces. I do not have a very optimistic view for Fukuda’s future in NPB pro ball. I would like to see him dominate more at the independent league level before giving him a chance at the NPB level.

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.