Japanese Baseball Draft Analysis NPB - Tetsuya Yamamoto - Tokyo Yakult Swallows
ByTetsuya Yamamoto - Pitcher - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe
Tetsuya Yamamoto - Yakult Swallows
DOB : 9/4/85 
age : 24
throws / hits : R / R
height cm : 179
weight kg : 74
height inch : 70.5 Yakult Swallows
weight lbs : 163.1 round 2
Tetsuya Yamamoto is a slightly lanky pitcher who has a great dropping forkball and deceptive slider that I see translating to the pro game. He throws 146km and has the aggressive mind set of a closer. He has a nasty streak and likes to go after batters. He is known for his quick, dropping throws and offsets those with a nice breaking drop curve. He has pro-level stuff and a pro-level mind for controlling the game. He needs to work on his command. He can get too aggressive and let his placement get away from him at times. Yamamoto uses his long arms and whip action and has nice form.
Outlook: The Swallows currently have one of the better closers in the game in Lim, but I don’t see Lim being there much longer. Yamamoto could fill the closer role, or even the middle-relief/set-up role that Igarashi held. Look for Yamamoto to develop into an above-average pitcher at striking batters out with his deceptive, yet fast, breaking balls. Look for him to be a top closer if he can pick his command up another level and be more consistent. Overall this is a good pick and Yamamoto is game-ready. What role he will fill is yet to be decided. Look for him to make spot appearances as early as 2011 or 2012 in relief or closer spots.
Brandon Siefken has covered Japanese pro and amateur baseball since 1991. He is currently provides services to a Major League Baseball team and has been quoted in The New York Times, Bloomberg, the Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook and Media Guide and other publications regarding Japanese baseball. Brandon has appeared on Will Carroll’s Baseball Prospectus radio show and is a regular writer for Bob Bavasi’s JapanBall.com site. Brandon has also 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.
