Japanese Baseball Draft Analysis NPB - Yakult Swallows
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Team Analysis - Tokyo Yakult Swallows
pitching out of 12 teams 9th record 71-72-1
hitting out of 12 teams 7th placed 3rd of 6
pitching potential C- draft grade B+
hitting potential D
The Tokyo Yakult Swallows entered the 2009 draft with no huge holes but some wish list positions to fortify. They are particularly weak at 1st base, catcher, relief pitching and, as any other team, could use more pitching.
The Swallows ended the draft with two game-ready pitchers, a game-ready infielder and two very polished high school prospects who all have a chance to play NPB ball if developed properly.
Overall, Yakult did very well for themselves, adding to their bright young pitchers like Yoshinori and Akagawa. The loss of Igarashi to the Mets should not hurt too much, and Yakult is certainly a team improved after two very successful drafts. I see Yakult treading water another year or so and possibly treading into the playoffs if lucky.
I see at least four of these five 2009 draft picks playing and contributing to Yakult’s future. I especially like pick 2 Yamamoto and pick 5 Matsui. Overall a very solid draft with no superstars, but solid players. The lack of star power makes me want to give them a B, but with each player having a chance to play and no wasted picks, B+ is the final grade.
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 ) newsletter with updated weekly stats for every player from April to October. Brandon can be contacted at brandon@japanball.com.
