Three years later: Progress report on the Seibu Lions 2016 Draft Class

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The Saitama Seibu Lions had several pitching options to take in this draft, but there was a huge difference of opinion in the first round. Through three seasons, a few players have already made some impact while others continue to develop. 

Here is a progress report on this class: 

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First round: P Tatsuya Imai (Sakushin Gakuin, Tochigi)

The Lions did not go for the hyped up Seigi Tanaka and all six B-class teams took a different player as a way of punishing those who went for him. There was no opposition for Imai's rights.

Imai's first season of professional baseball was cut short due to injury, where he suffered a shoulder problem in spring training camp. A suspension delayed his ichi-gun debut in 2018, but he made progress and continued to stay at the top level before being overwhelmed in the postseason. He put in a larger workload for 2019 while still developing, but remained inconsistent as a whole.

The Lions hope he can be an ace, as he still has upside, but might project more as a front end starter.  Grade: B

Hindsight: Taisuke Yamaoka has paid early dividends for Orix. Haruhiro Hamaguchi is a starter for the Baystars. Dragons took Yuya Yanagi in a coin flip draw. 

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Second round: P Shunta Nakatsuka (Hakuoh University, Tochigi) 

Nakatsuka was sick in the first month of the season and saw most of the year in ni-gun. As with any young hard-throwing pitcher, Nakatsuka struggled with control having several walks. His ichi-gun debut came in September where the Lions looked to close out a blowout win. After retiring his first two batters faced, he threw 12 consecutive balls which led to the bases being loaded.

He also received a workload in Australia with the Melbourne Aces and again struggled with control out of the bullpen. In Australia, he was known as "The Big Man" due to his size. He saw two ichi-gun games in 2018 with no success and the same control problems continued to linger. Nakatsuka failed to earn a call up in 2019 as his ceiling is caving in and future looking bleak.  Grade: F

Hindsight: Yuta Kuroki is a back end reliever for Orix. Yota Kyoda won the Central League rookie of the year award for the Chunichi Dragons. Tomohito Sakai and Taiki Ono have earned starts with the Marines and Tigers, respectively. Kazunari Ishii has been a regular fielder for the Fighters. Seishu Hatake has contributed for the Giants. 

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Third round: IF Sosuke Genda (Toyota Motors, Aichi)

The Lions took a shakaijin in the third round and he played every single inning at the ichi-gun level for 2017. Genda became the fourth player in NPB history to accomplish this feat and he won the 2017 Pacfic League rookie of the award. He avoided any sophomore slump in 2018 and became a Best IX SS for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. There's no question his defense and speed remain valuable for the Lions.  Grade: A

Hindsight: None for now

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Fourth round: OF Shohei Suzuki (Shizuoka HS, Shizuoka) 

The Lions took a HS outfielder as a future prospect. Suzuki made good progress in ni-gun and the Lions like what they're seeing him, hoping he can develop into a potential leadoff hitter. He earned his first ichi-gun action in 2019 as a reserve outfielder and even saw a handful of starts in right field.

Suzuki is far from a finished product, but the Lions believe he can be a regular in the outfield for the future. So far, he is progressing. Grade: B-

Hindsight: Orix took Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Marines took Seiya Dohi. Dragons took Shotaro Kasahara. 

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Fifth round: P Katsunori Hirai (Honda Suzuka, Mie)

Hirai was one of the oldest players taken in the class as he was a shakaijin playing in Mie prefecture. He cracked the ichi-gun level in May of 2017 and never had to look back, earning innings in medium leverage. For 2018. he was part of a up and down bullpen where he was prone to giving up home runs.

In 2019, he earned the setup man role and thrived under Kazuyoshi Ono. However, his arm was shot by the end of the year by overplaying him in every role from leading by 1 run to tie games or even trailing by a few runs. By appearing in 81 games, it was a new Pacific League record. Despite the poor September and postseason, the Lions found a back end reliever who can take on the high leverage situations. Grade A-

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Sixth round: P Ichiro Tamura (Rikkyo University, Tokyo)

Tamura has mostly taken mop up innings and isn't able to stay at the ichi-gun when called up. His carer high in games played was 12 in 2017 and he's known for giving up easy home runs. Time could be running out if others contniue to leap him on the depth chart. Grade: D-

Hindsight: Rakuten took Yuhei Takanashi in this round. 

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Overall: 

The jury is still out on Imai and he becomes, but a starting SS to helped immediately and a reliever who is on pace to continue staying at the ichi-gun already makes this a good class. If Imai pans out into anything, it's a home run. Let's hope there is no decline for Hirai like it did for Tomomi Takahashi. It's also possible Shohei Suzuki could develop into something, but time will tell.  Grade: B+ 


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