Thursday, December 30, 2021

Seibu Lions want to "Change Up" in 2022, add Takahashi, Witte

 


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The Saitama Seibu Lions announced their latest slogan for the 2022 season as Change Up!. 

Manager Hatsuhiko Tsuji said the team can't win in emotions alone, but can't win without feelings either. As the Lions finished in last place of the Pacific League for the first time in 42 years, he is hoping the younger players can use last year as a learning experience.

This season is supposed to be a transition year with Tsuji likely to step down for good as he passes the baton to Kazuo Matsui as the next Lions manager. Matsui was previously the farm manager before they promoted him to the head (bench) coach position. 

While Change Up can sound good on paper after a forgettable 2021, it's hard not to think about the changeup pitch which is something off speed to throw off a hitter. Hope the Lions don't slow down. 

Similarly, the Yokohama DeNA Baystars had "This is my Era" yet it doesn't sound good for a struggling pitcher's statline.  

===

New foreigners added

The Lions also spent December signing two imports in RHP Bo Takahashi and IF Jantzen Witte. 

Takahashi, who will be 25 in 2022, was mostly in the minor league system of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent time on their 40-man roster and even had a day on the 25-man roster, but never played an MLB game. 

Last year, he was in AAA with the Cincinnati Reds organization before he signed with the KIA Tigers of KBO as a midseason signing. In six KBO starts, he had a 4.18 ERA in 32.1 innings of work. 

Takahashi is Brazillian with Japanese descent. As a result, he counts as a foreigner on the ichi-gun roster. His family name was listed in Katakana.

On paper, Takahashi is the most raw player of the Lions foreign signings. He can throw hard, but can his control develop? While he was a starter for most of his career, the Lions may have Takahashi as a project as they figure out how to utilize him. 

Witte, who will be 32 in 2022, was a career minor leaguer with no MLB experience. In 2021 with the Seattle Mariners organization in AAA, he had a slashline of .299/.364/.491 with 19 home runs in 104 games. 

He was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 24th round of the 2013 MLB draft. He only made it to AAA with Boston. 

Witte is able to play 1B, 2B and 3B, carrying versatility where the Lions need it. He should be given a starting role immediately for any struggling position. 

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Sunday, December 19, 2021

2021 Seibu Lions name translations

 

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One of our most common gags here at Graveyard Baseball is to do a literal translation of Lions players and their family names. On Twitter, it often looks like this:

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Here is the 2021 edition of every Seibu Lions player.  

To prevent redundancy, we have assigned 田 to paddy and 野 to field. If some guys have the same family name, we've translated their first name as a bonus. When seeing that kanji, the last name is first, first name is last.

For players with the same surname, we also translated their first name.

Italicized names are players who are not returning for 2022.


All draft picks from 2021 are not included since they won't play until 2022. 

===

Pitchers:

Tatsushi Masuda 増田: More paddies

Kona Takahashi 髙橋 光成: Tall bridge, Light growing

Ken Togame 十亀: Ten turtles

Shota Hamaya 浜屋: Beach Roof

Shunta Nakatsuka 中塚: Center mound

Katsunori Hirai 平井: Flat well

Yasuo Sano 佐野: Assistant field

Ichiro Tamura 田村: Paddy village

Keisuke Honda 本田: Book Paddy

Shota Takekuma 武隈: Warrior shadow

Tatsuya Imai 今井: Now well (Well as in the noun, not the adverb/adjective)

Hiromasa Saito 齊藤　大将: Adjusted Wisteria, General

Saito will be an ikusei in 2022

Daiki Enokida 榎田: Mushroom Paddy

Sho Ito: 伊藤: Italian Wisteria

Ito will be an ikusei in 2022

Ryuya Ogawa 小川: Small River

Kaima Taira 平良: Flat Good

Yutaro Watanabe 渡邉: Ford Edge (ford as in ferry crossing or transit, not the car).

Kaito Awatsu 粟津: Millet Harbor

Awatsu will be an ikusei in 2022

Tetsuya Utsumi 内海: Inside Sea (Inlet)

Ryosuke Moriwaki 森脇: Forest Armpit (or side / flank)

Kaito Yoza 與座: Participation Seat

Tetsu Miyagawa 宮川: Shrine River

Daisuke Matsuzaka 松坂: Pine Tree Slope

Hiroki Inoue 井上: Well Top

Koki Matsuoka 松岡: Pine Tree Hill

Towa Uema 上間: Above Space

Uema will be an ikusei in 2022

Takeru Sasaki 佐々木: Assistant Tree

Ren Omagari 大曲: Big Bend

Yoshinobu Mizukami 水上: Water Top

===

Catchers:

Tomoya Mori 森: Forest

Masatoshi Okada 岡田: Hill paddy

Hitoto Komazuki 駒月: Horse moon (Interesting note that 駒 [koma] also refers to the knight piece when playing chess or another board game involving a horse)

Shoya Makino 牧野: Shepard Field

Masato Saito 齊藤 誠人: Adjusted Wisteria, Sincere Person

Sena Tsuge 柘植: Mulberry Plant

===

Infielders:

Sosuke Genda 源田: Root paddy (源 [gen] can refer to the origin or root of something)

Hotaka Yamakawa 山川: Mountain river

Takeya Nakamura 中村: Center village

Haruka Yamada 山田: Mountain paddy

Ryusei Tsunashima 綱島: Rope Island

Shuta Tonosaki 外崎: Outside cape (cape as in headland, not the cloak)

Kakeru Yamanobe 山野辺: Mountain Field Area

Ryusei Sato 佐藤: Assistant Wisteria [Traded]

Ryota Kawano 川野: River Field

Kento Watanabe 渡部: Cross Section

Takayoshi Yamamura 山村: Mountain Village

"Brandon" Taiga Tysinger ブランドン: Broom Hill 

Due to going by his given name and not being a foreigner as someone born in Okinawa, Brandon gets recognized here. 


===

Outfielders:

Yuji Kaneko 金子 侑司: Gold child, Assistant director

Takumi Kuriyama 栗山: Chestnut mountain

Fumikazu Kimura 木村: Tree village (Traded)

Manaya Nishikawa 西川: West River

Seiji Kawagoe 川越: River surpass

Masato Kumashiro 熊代: Bear substitute (Fun fact: Shiro is a homophone for the color white (白). Unfortunately the kanji shows he's not a polar bear.)

Shohei Suzuki 鈴木: Bell tree

Daisuke Togawa 戸川: Door river

[Aito] Takeda 武田 愛斗: Military paddy, Love Big Dipper / Ladle (Takeda has his first name registered)

Wataru Takagi 高木 渉: Tall Tree, Ford (as in fording or crossing a river)

Junichiro Kishi 岸: Beach

Gakuto Wakabayashi 若林: Young Grove

Yuta Nakamigawa 仲三河: Between Three Rivers

===

Ikusei:

Aoi Tono 東野: East Field

Toshihiro Idei 出井: Exit Well

Jiyu Okubo 大窪: Large Cavity (or cave in / depression).

Beware, 窪 has multiple meanings

Daichi Nakaguma 中熊: Center Bear

Shinsaburo Tawata 多和田: Many harmonious paddies (Note: 和 is the same harmony character that all businesses, teams and work places uses in needing to have Wa)

Yuto Akagami 赤上: Red Top

Shinya Hasegawa 長谷川: Long Valley River

Joseph Ken Miyamoto 宮本: Shrine Book

Taishi Mameda 豆田: Legume Paddy


===

Manager and Coaches:

Hatsuhiko Tsuji 辻: Intersection

Toshifumi Baba 馬場: Horse Place

Kiyoshi Toyoda 豊田: Rich Paddy

Shigenobu Shima 嶋: Island

Masahiro Abe 阿部: Corner head of Yamato Group (saw Africa for Abe's name, but too confusing)

Kosaku Akimoto 秋元: Autumn Beginning

Fumiya Nishiguchi 西口: West Mouth

Tomoaki Sato 佐藤: Assistant Wisteria

Kazuo Matsui 松井: Pine Tree Well

Hiroyuki Takagi 高木 浩之: Tall Tree, This Abundance

Kento Sugiyama 杉山: Cedar Mountain

Kosuke Noda 野田: Field Paddy, Abundance of help

Satoshi Kuroda 黒田: Black Paddy

Shogo Akada 赤田: Red Paddy

Eiji Kiyokawa 清川: Pure River

Tatsuyuki Uemoto 上本: Top Book

Tatsuya Ozeki 小関: Small Connection

Tatsuya Oishi 大石: Big Rock

Norio Tanabe 田辺: Paddy Border

Hayato Aoki 青木: Green Tree

Hisashi Takayama 高山: Tall Mountain

Yuji Onizaki 鬼崎: Demon Peninsula

===

Bonus: Foreigners

As a continuous gag, we reverse translate the foreigners to see what their name in Japanese would literally look like, not just katakana sounds. Here is what their names would look like in kanji. Chinese names also included.

Zach Neal ニール: Senshuken [選手権]. Neal's name has Gaelic origins meaning "Champion." Senshuken could also mean a title besides a championship.

Ernesto Mejia メヒア: Kyuseishu [救世主] . Mejia's name means "Messiah" or "Savior" in latin/greek origin.

Reed Garrett ギャレット: Tsuyoyari [強槍]. Garrett is a "Strong Spear" with German and French origins . 

Cory Spangenberg  スパンジェンバーグ: Tomegane [留金]. Spangenberg derives from Spange, which is a clasp or buckles in German. 

Nien Ting Wu 呉: Giver / Atae (与え)

Matt Dermody ダーモディ: Jiyuotoko [自由男]. Dermody derives from the Gaelic name "Diarmaid" which is "Free of envy". His kanji shows he's a free man. 


===


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Saturday, December 18, 2021

Six years later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2015 draft class

 


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The Saitama Seibu Lions came off a poor second half of the season in 2015, which included a franchise-record 13-game losing streak in the midst of a cold stretch. There was one obvious flaw that the team knew and this draft had several players.

Here is what happened with a reaction:

First round: P Shinsaburo Tawata (Fuji University, Iwate)

By taking a pitcher out of Fuji University, it was the third straight year the Lions took someone out of this school following Hotaka Yamakawa and Shuta Tonosaki. Tawata was taken without opposition even though they made an announcement the day before.

Tawata had two slow starts to his career in 2016 and 2017, but a good second half made it all promising. He had a great 2018 as the wins leader, but regressed in 2019 while being the opening day starter. One thing that has been clear of Tawata: his strikeout rate fell even though his 2018 season had wins. His health declined in 2019 and stayed on an ikusei contract for 2020-2021 before the team released him for good last month. His career was a flash in the pan.   Grade: C

Hindsight: The Orix Buffaloes took Masataka Yoshida and the Baystars selected Shota Imanaga unopposed. Softbank won a three-way drawing for Jumpei Takahashi. 

===

Second round: P Seiji Kawagoe (Hokkai Gakuen University, Hokkaido) 

Kawagoe was a two-way player in college and was drafted as a pitcher, despite having potential in the OF too. Injuries derailed his career early on and his jersey number reassignment showed he regressed. He switched to being an outfielder where he has a part time role. Bad value  Grade: D-

Hindsight: The Fighters selected P Takayuki Kato with this pick. Ryota Sekiya was drafted by the Marines.

===

Third round: P Shogo Noda, (Seino Unyu, Gifu) 

The Lions went with a shakaijin in the third round and Noda has worked his way up to the ichi-gun early. In his first year, he started to get meaningful innings when the season ended and had low leverage outings in 2017. He took a workload of medium leverage innings in 2018, but couldn't stay at the ichi-gun for long in 2019. After struggling in ni-gun for 2020, the Lions cut him when the season was over. Grade: D

Hindsight: The Eagles took Eigoro Mogi. 

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Fourth round: OF Aito Takeda (Hanasaki Tokuharu HS, Saitama) 

The Lions took a HS outfielder from their own backyard in "Aito" Takeda (formerly Otaki) as he was part of a Summer Koshien team that had a decent run. Aito earned a few games at the ichi-gun level and was hit by pitch in his first career plate appearance in 2017. 

He saw almost no time in 2018, but was mostly on the bench in 2019 as a defensive replacement or emergency outfielder. He even had a walkoff error hit, but his bat wasn't good enough to be a starter. Aito was an ichi-gun regular in 2021, but his bat was nothing special. He needs to prove his worth in 2022. Grade: D+

Hindsight: The Baystars took C Yasutaka Tobashira and the Dragons took Hiroto Fuku with this pick. 

===

Fifth round: P Tadasuke Minamikawa (JR Shikoku, Kagawa)

A shakaijin from Shikoku was taken in this round by the Lions, but Minamikawa didlittle at the ichi-gun level. From 2016-2019, he had a total of 14 ichi-gun appearances which were all in low leverage. His only appearance in 2019 featured three walks and no recorded outs with two wild pitches. The inherited runners eventually scored, leaving him with an infinity ERA for the 2019 season. He fell out of favor among the Lions pitchers and was part of the seryokugai at the end of 2019. Grade: F

Hindsight: The Hiroshima Carp selected Ryoma Nishikawa in this round. Koyo Aoyagi was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers. Ryota Ishibashi was taken by the Eagles. Toshiki Abe was drafted by the Dragons. 

===

Sixth round: P Keisuke Honda (Tohoku Gakuin University, Miyagi)

Honda is only the second-best known Keisuke Honda in Japan behind the midfielder of the same name. He was mostly a ni-gun starter from 2016-2018 while being productive, but couldn't crack much time at the ichi-gun minus some spot starts and relief appearances. 

He was part of the 2016 U23 Baseball World Cup in Mexico, where Samurai Japan won. Honda also dominated the Australian Baseball League in that same year in the five starts he was given. He finally became a regular starting pitcher in 2019, recording a 6-6 record with a 4.63 ERA in 91.1 IP and 16 starts. He even started a postseason game. While inconsistent, getting a back end / spot starter in this round is decent value.   Grade: C

Hindsight: None.
===

Seventh round: IF Nien Ting Wu (Daichi Kogyo University, Kagoshima)

Wu is originally from Taiwan, but moved to Japan at a young age due to his father being a player in the shakaijin leagues. He attended high school in Okayama prefecture and his father's connection to the Lions was being a teammate of now GM Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe.

With the Lions 2016 season being all but over, Wu started games at SS at the end of of the year and had quite a few at bats. His time diminished in 2017 due to the emergence of Sosuke Genda. He saw no ichi-gun games in 2019 with Ryusei Sato leaping him on the depth chart. While in ni-gun, the Lions have used him all over the infield and outfield as a utility player, but others are blocked him from being at the top level. He finally had more opportunities in 2021 and was average as a starter on the infield, but his bat isn't anything worthy to be played everyday.  Grade: C+

Hindsight: Kohei Suzuki was taken by Orix.

===

Eighth round: P Tsubasa Kokuba (Daichi Kogyo University, Kagoshima) 

Kokuba was a teammate of Wu's and an Okinawa native. He saw a short time at the ichi-gun at the end of 2016, but failed to play a game at the ichi-gun level from 2017-2018. However, he earned a late callup in 2019 where he initially saw mop up duty innings. Eventually, he took medium leverage situations if necessary and earned a win out of the bullpen. In 15 games, he finished with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings. Kokbua saw seven ichi-gun games in 2020 and the Lions cut him after the season due to poor performance.  Grade: D

Hindsight: None for now

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Ninth round: P Koki Fujita (Hirosaki Kogyo HS, Aomori)

Fujita was the only HS pitcher selected in this class and he spent the 2016 season recovering from an injury. He got his feet wet out of the bullpen for three ni-gun games in 2017 and his workload continued at the farm level to 2018 and 2019.  In 27 ni-gu games, Fujita recorded a 1-1 record with a 5.87 ERA as a reliever for 23 innings. His injury derailed his career and he never saw an ichi-gun game. Fujita was cut after the 2020 season. Grade: Incomplete

Hindsight: None

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Tenth round: P Naoaki Matsumoto (Kagawa Olive Guyners, Kagawa)

The Lions took a flyer on a pitcher from the Shikoku Island League as Matsumoto turned 25 a month after he was drafted. While having a great underdog story of being the last player drafted  and playing in a hospital league while helping elders to playing well in the Indy League, he did done little at the ichi-gun.

He received a call up in late 2016 for some brief appearances in Fukuoka. Matsumoto had 24 innings of mop up duty in 24 games back in 2018, but recorded a 6.75 ERA. He had another four ichi-gun games in 2019, but it didn't amount to much. Tthe Lions cut him after the 2019 season as part of the senryokugai. It was a great story, but he couldn't overcome all the odds. Grade: D-

Hindsight: Orix took Yutaro Sugimoto. 

===

Overall:

This class is awful as quantity did not turn into quality. A lack of starters with only four players left. Grade: D-

===


===

Other years:

2012

2013

2014

2016

2017

2018

===

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Friday, December 10, 2021

2022 Seibu Lions Salary list


 ===

December is a month of salary negotiations for all teams. Here are the reported figures for the Seibu Lions: 

This list will continue to update as time goes on. 

Legend: 

^ - Raise

|v| - Paycut

= - Same wages

R = Coming off their first game or season at the ichi-gun.

AVG/OBP/SLG for position players. 
 

===

Pitchers: 

Tatsushi Masuda: ¥300 million =; (0-3), 4.99 ERA, 8 SV in 33 games, 30.2 innings

Masuda is in the second of a four-year contract. 

Katsunori Hirai: ¥66 million [v] by ¥12 million; (4-4), 4.22 ERA, 2 HLDS in 25 games, 74.2 innings

Ken Togame: ¥70 million =; (1-1), 3.38 ERA, in eight games, 40 innings

Togame is in the third of a four-year contract

Kona Takahashi: ¥110 million ^ by ¥43 million; (11-9), 3.78 ERA in 27 games, 173.2 innings

Tetsuya Utsumi: ¥45 million [v] by ¥11.25 million; (1-0), 7.71 ERA in two games, 7 innings

Utsumi will also serve as a coach

Kaima Taira: ¥42 million ^ by ¥30 million; (1-0), 1.87 ERA, 33 HLD, 1 SV in 54 games, 53 innings

Ryosuke Moriwaki: ¥35 million ^ by ¥2 million, (3-1), 13 HLD, 4.02 ERA, 1 SV in 45 games, 40.1 innings

Wataru Matsumoto: ¥54 million, ^ by ¥24 million, (10-8), 3.79 ERA in 28 games, 149.2 innings

Tatsuya Imai: ¥51 million, ^ by ¥23 million, (8-8), 3.30 ERA in 25 games, 158.1 innings

Katsuhiko Kumon: ¥40.5 million [v] by ¥9.5 million, (0-0), 0.79 ERA in 14 games, 11.1 innings with the Lions

Tetsu Miyagawa: ¥19 million [v] by ¥4 million; (1-2), 6.57 ERA in 29 games, 24.2 innings

Shota Takekuma: ¥32 million [^] by ¥10 million; (0-0), 1.76 ERA in 46 games, 30.2 innings

Yasuo Sano: ¥18 million [=] (0-0), 4.91 ERA in 23 games, 18.1 innings

Shota Hamaya: ¥13.1 million [v] by ¥2.4 million; (1-6), 6.63 ERA, 36.2 innings

Keisuke Honda: ¥12.6 million [v] by ¥1 million; (0-3), 4.21 ERA, 25.2 innings

Ichiro Tamura: ¥12.5 million ^ by ¥2.5 million; (1-0), 1 SV, 2.90 ERA in 22 games, 31 innings

Kaito Yoza: ¥11 million ^ by ¥2 million (1-1), 2.79 ERA in 15 games, 38.2 innings

Koki Matsuoka: ¥7.5 million =; (0-0), 11.25 ERA in five games, 4 innings

Hiromasa Saito: ¥10 million [v] by ¥3 million; 0 games

Saito is under an ikusei contract

Sho Ito: ¥7 million [v] by ¥1.2 million; (0-1), 4.00 ERA in 13 games, 18 innings

Ito is on an ikusei contract after recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

(R) Yutaro Watanabe: ¥10 million ^ by ¥3.5 milliob ; (4-4), 3.44 ERA in 17 games, 55 innings

(R) Hiroki Inoue: ¥6.2 million ^ by ¥200K, (0-0), 10.38 ERA in four games, 4.1 innings

(R) Towa Uema: ¥5 million = (0-2), 5.09 ERA in nine ni-gun games, 35.1 innings

(R) Yoshinobu Mizukami: ¥10 million ^ by ¥5.3 million, (0-1), 2.33 ERA in 29 games, 27 innings, earned promotion from Ikusei. 

(R) Takeru Sasaki: ¥13.5 million =; (0-0), 8.31 ERA, in five games, 8.2 innings

(R) Ren Omagari: ¥9 million =;, (0-0), 0.00 ERA in four games, 4.0 innings

(R) Towa Uema: ¥6.5 million, ^ by ¥1.5 million, (1-1), 6.33 ERA in five games, 21.1 innings

Uema is on an ikusei contract after recovering from Tommy John surgery. 

Kaito Awatsu: ¥5.3 million [v] by ¥1.7 million, No games 

Awatsu is under an ikusei contract. 

===

Infielders:

Takeya Nakamura: ¥200 million [v] by ¥20 million; .284/.343/.440, 18 HR in 123 games

Hotaka Yamakawa: ¥130 million [v] by ¥40 million; .232/.321/.469, 24 HR in 110 games

Sosuke Genda: ¥190 million ^ by ¥40 million; .272/.319/.347, 2 HR in 119 games

Kakeru Yamanobe: ¥12 million [v] by ¥2 million ; .194/.211/.278, 0 HR in 25 games

Nien Ting Wu: ¥25 million ^ by ¥16.2 million ; .238/.310/.348, 10 HR in 130 games

Shota Hiranuma: ¥14 million =; .154/.154/.231, 0 HR in 9 games with the Lions 

Ryota Kawano: ¥6.5 million = ; .216/.297/.347, 3 HR in 72 ni-gun games

Haruka Yamada: ¥12.4 million ^ by ¥6.2 million; .197/.258/.252, 0 HR in 98 games

Ryusei Tsunashima: ¥5 million = ; .261/.298/.418, 2 HR in 44 ni-gun games

(R) Kento Watanabe: ¥16 million = ; .063/.118/.250, 1 HR in six games 

(R) Brandon Tysinger: ¥9 million ^ by ¥2 million ; .247/.253/.444, 3 HR in 32 games 

Takayoshi Yamamura: ¥7 million =; .217/.250/.342, 6 HR in 85 ni-gun games


===

Outfielders: 

Takumi Kuriyama: ¥179 million ^ by ¥9 million; .251/.334/.320, 4 HR in 117 games

Shuta Tonosaki: ¥104 million [v] by ¥26 million; .220/.316/.335, 5 HR in 73 games

Yuji Kaneko: ¥126 million =; .192/.243/.237, 0 HR in 101 games

Kaneko is in the third year of a four-year contract. 

Masato Kumashiro: ¥14 million ^ by ¥2 million; .286/.286/.375, 0 HR in 60 games

Shohei Suzuki: ¥8.6 million [v] by ¥1 million; .158/.200/.184, 0 HR in 27 games

Seiji Kawagoe: ¥12 million ^ by ¥3.2 million ; .225/.283/.350, 5 HR in 63 games

"Aito" Takeda: ¥20 million ^ by ¥12.6 million ; .219/.265/.377, 8 HR in 97 games

Manaya Nishikawa: ¥7.8 million ^ by ¥500K ; .000/.154/.000, 0 HR in 12 games

Wataru Takagi: ¥6.5 million [v] by ¥500K million ; .067/.176/.133, 0 HR in 6 games

Daisuke Togawa: ¥5.8 million ^ by ¥200K ; .059/.056/.059, 0 HR in 8 games

Junichiro Kishi: ¥16 million ^ by ¥10.5 million ; .220/.263/.345, 9 HR in 100 games

Brian O'Grady: ¥80 million 

(R) Gakuto Wakabayashi: ¥14 million ^ by ¥4 million ; .278/.340/.389, 2 HR in 44 games 

Yuta Nakamigawa: ¥6 million =; .210/.272/.315, 1 HR in 77 ni-gun games 

===

Catchers: 

Tomoya Mori: ¥210 million ^ by ¥50 million; .309/.420/.469, 11 HR in 125 games

Masatoshi Okada: ¥30 million =; .119/.229/.214, 1 HR in 34 games

Okada chose to stay with the Lions as he earned domestic FA rights 

Sena Tsuge: ¥14 million ^ by ¥2 million; .215/.243/.292, 1 HR in 35 games

Shoya Makino: ¥5.7 million [V] by ¥300K ; .272/.326/.358, 1 HR in 34 ni-gun games

(R) Masato Saito: ¥5.3 million ^ by ¥300K ; .000/.000/.000, 0 HR in 1 game

===

===

Ikusei: 

Daichi Nakaguma: ¥3.5 million = ; .266/.330/.310, 3 HR in 56 ni-gun games

Toshihiro Idei: ¥4 million = ; (1-3), 8.01 ERA in 12 ni-gun games, 30.1 innings

Taishi Mameda: ¥2.8 million =; (2-1), 9.45 ERA in 9 ni-gun games, 26.2 innings

Yuto Akagami: ¥4 million =; (1-2), 4.76 ERA in 12 ni-gun games, 11.1 innings

Shinya Hasegawa: ¥2.8 million =;.229/.284/.331, 1 HR in 72 ni-gun games

Joseph Ken Miyamoto: ¥4 million =; .200/.328/.218, 0 HR in 38 ni-gun games 


===

2021 Draft picks:

P Chihiro Sumida: ¥16 million, ¥100 million signing bonus, ¥50 million in incentives (1st round draft pick)

P Shunsuke Sato: ¥12.5 million, ¥70 million signing bonus (2nd round draft pick)

C Yuto Koga: ¥12 million, ¥50 million signing bonus (3rd round draft pick)

P Shinnosuke Hada: ¥6 million, ¥40 million signing bonus (4th round draft pick)

P Masaya Kuroda: ¥6.5 million, ¥25 million signing bonus (5th round draft pick)

IF Seigo Nakayama: ¥7 milllion, ¥30 million signing bonus (6th round draft pick) 

C Takeru Furuichi: ¥2.8 million, ¥3.5 million signing bonus (1st round ikusei pick)

IF Natsuo Takizawa: ¥2.8 million, ¥3.5 million signing bonus (2nd round ikusei pick)

P Shinya Sugai: ¥2.8 million, ¥3.5 million signing bonus (3rd round ikusei pick)

OF Keishin Kawamura: ¥4 million, ¥3.5 million signing bonus (4th round ikusei pick)

===

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Monday, December 6, 2021

Seven years later: Grading the 2014 Seibu Lions draft class

 

===

The Saitama Seibu Lions came off one of their worst seasons in 5th place for 2014. Norio Tanabe was no longer an interim manager and given a full year. How did this team approach the draft?

===

First round: P Kona Takahashi (Maebashi Ikuei HS, Gunma)

Kona Takahashi won the 2013 Koshien tournament as a junior and was taken by the Lions without opposition in the first round. A big difference of opinion ended up favoring the Lions to land his rights.

In his first two years, he threw two shutouts and already reached three complete games. He suffered some setbacks in 2017-2018 with poor condition and injury, but rebounded in 2019 with his biggest workload yet of 123.2 IP before being hurt in September. 

For 2020-2021, Takahashi has taken the next step towards being the ace. He carried the rotation as the top starter and he has gotten better with age. 

. Grade: B+

Hindsight: The Baystars won the rights to Yasuaki Yamasaki as a second choice, where they had a 50-50 chance of landing him against the Hanshin Tigers. Kohei Arihara was the consensus best player available, which the Fighters won a four-way drawing for his rights. Kazuma Okamoto was taken without opposition by the Giants. Shogo Nakamura was taken unopposed by the Marines. 

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Second round: P Yasuo Sano (Heisei Kokusai Univesrsity, Saitama)

Sano was given a spot start in 2015 and had some time in the bullpen for 2016, where he earned a win. His role expanded in 2017 as he became the sixth starter and the Lions were tight, giving him strictly four to five innings at most. He showed good progress as the starter and earned plenty of run support, but a knee injury in June ended his season. 

After a short ichi-gun season in 2018, he had his biggest workload yet in 2019 with 67.2 IP. The Lions used him as a spot starter, but mostly in middle relief when the team was trailing or tied. He registered a 4.39 ERA for 2019. His role has remained limited with low leverage innnings. A mop up pitcher in the second round isn't what the team envisioned, but he's not completely useless.  Grade: D+

Hindsight: The Hanshin Tigers drafted Tsuyoshi Ishizaki in this round and the Giants found Chiaki Tone as both have been relievers for their teams. Kenta Ishida was drafted by the Baystars. Kazuki Yabuta was taken by the Carp. Yuma Mune was taken by the Buffaloes. Hawks took Ryoya Kurihara. 

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Third round: IF Shuta Tonosaki (Fuji University, Iwate)

Tonosaki started off as a pinch runner and defensive replacement as he earned ichi-gun playing time by the end of his rookie year 2015. His role diminished under Norio Tanabe in 2016, but he spent the entire 2017 at the ichi-gun level. 

Hatsuhiko Tsuji initially had him as a defensive replacement, but some poor hitting in the outfield made Tonosaki start in left field and later right field, a position he held for the rest of the year. He was a starting right fielder in 2018 until his injury prevented him from playing a full season. For 2019, he switched back to the infield at 2B and played every game, reaching the 20+ HR milestone for the first time. 

With an .846 OPS while batting sixth in the lineup, he has been a reliable starter with 22 stolen bases and has shown to be a better athlete than his predecessor Hideto Asamura. Tonosaki has battled injuries and regressed since his peak 2019 season. He doesn't hit for average as easily, but this has proven to be a decent pick as he even spent time with Samurai Japan on international duty. Grade: B+

Hindsight:  Fighters took Daiki Asama, Baystars took Toshihiko Kuramoto. Marines selected Daiki Iwashita. 

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Fourth round: P Yusuke Tamamura (Tsuruga Kehi HS, Fukui)

Tamamura graduated high school a year before and likely dropped out of Asia University, but it didn't prevent the Lions from taking him as a 19 year old. He's become a regular starter at the ni-gun level, but he came off a poor 2017 with a 8.39 ERA in 39.2 innings of work. He had a double-digit ERA down in ni-gun for 2018, which told the Lions they had enough of him. Tamamura was cut at the end of the year as part of the seryokugai.   Grade: F

Hindsight: Naoya Ishikawa was taken by the Fighters. 

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Fifth round: IF Haruka Yamada (Saga Kogyo HS, Saga)

Yamada was called up briefly to the ichi-gun as an emergency infielder in 2017 for a week. However, he didn't play a game and has been a regular ni-gun starter. He earned a call up in 2018 and even hit a solo HR as his only hit. He only appeared in four ichi-gun games in 2019 with others leaping him on the depth chart. 

His defense is adequate, but he can't hit his weight in the lineup. His role expanded in 2021 due to injuries as he showed he couldn't hit. Yamada is better as a defensive replacement. He also has great celebrations in the dugout. Grade: D

Hindsight: Kai Ueda was drafted by the Tigers

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Ikusei: OF Daisuke Togawa (Hokkai HS, Hokkaido)

Togawa earned a promotion to the 70-man roster one year after being drafted when the 2015 season ended. His first callup to the ichi-gun game in 2019 and he hit an important home run during that span. He even earned a hero interview after that win. The Lions had a brief revolving door in right field and he appeared in only 10 games, hitting .174/.240/.348. His time has been limited since. Any ikusei working their way up is always a positive and if anything, he's a depth option. Grade: C-

Hindsight: None for now

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Overall: 

The Lions found an everyday starter in Tonosaki while also having a starting pitcher in Kona Takahashi. With Sano and Yamada also being ichi-gun regulars, this class is a positive one, but it isn't a home run given the roles. This class is hinging on Takahashi. Grade: B+

Hindsight: This class appears to be top heavy as the first round included several jewels. There is still time for high school picks to develop, but it's clear some of the front end guys like Arihara have lived up to the hype. 


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Sunday, November 21, 2021

Report: Lions sign LHP Dietrich Enns


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The Saitama Seibu Lions announced they signed left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns on Monday. Enns becomes the first foreign signing of the offseason and he will wear No. 75.

Enns, 30, last played for the Tampa Bay Rays for 2021. In nine games as a reliever, he had a 2-0 record, 3.22 ERA with 22.1 innings of work. While in AAA, he had 71.2 innings with a 2.64 ERA and an 8-2 record as he started of his 19 games from the minors.  

He previously pitched in an independent league as well as the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres organization for 2020 an 2019. Enns made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Minnesota Twins where he only saw two games. 

Enns was initially drafted by the New York Yankees in 2012 out of college. He was part of a trade  package to the Twins in exchange for Jaime Garcia. While in high Single-A with the Yankees organization, he had Tommy John surgery in 2014. 

With experience as a starter and reliever, the Lions can put him anywhere they please. The Lions have made an effort to fix the lack of left-handed pitching from last season as Chihiro Sumida and Shunsuke Sato were the first two draft picks. Enns can throw a slider, fastball, curveball and changeup.

Earlier, General Manager Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe and Hatsuhiko Tsuji said the team could sign as many as five foreign players. They're also seeking a Spanish-Japanese interpreter for some potential imports. 

The Lions were linked to Enns as early as Saturday. Previously, the Lions were in talks with Taylor Jones and Brian O'Grady, but no signing or confirmation could be found. 

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Thursday, November 18, 2021

Eight years later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2013 draft class

 

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The 2013 NPB Draft was the beginning of a new regime for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe stepped away as a manager and Haruki Ihara came in. Nabe-Q moved to the front office as a senior director/adviser to eventually be the successor for GM Haruhiko Suzuki. 

First round: C Tomoya Mori (Osaka Toin HS, Osaka)

Mori was viewed as an undersized catcher with a powerful bat. The battery mate of Shintaro Fujinami, Mori was a Koshien champion in 2012 during his junior year, but teams still passed on him due to character concerns and size. The Lions didn't care and took him during the first reveal.

Early on, Mori hit several home runs in 2014, his first eligible season and was the DH for most of 2015. His bat has been good and is still growing. Norio Tanabe used him in right field on occasion and has been a part time catcher with the hope he can be a starter in the future. He's capable of hitting extra base hits and can mash despite his short stature. 

After a shortened 2017 season due to injury, Mori has been the starting catcher and thrived under Hatsuhiko Tsuji's leadership. He became a batting champion and MVP in 2019 while having an OPS above .900. He remains the starting catcher today.  Grade: A

Hindsight: The Carp won a three-way drawing for P Daichi Osera. Yuki Matsui was taken by the Eagles after a five-way drawing. The Marines took Ayumu Ishikawa when winning a coin flip drawing for his rights. C Seiji Kobayashi was drafted by the Giants as a fallback option. P Yuta Iwasada was taken by the Hanshin Tigers.  

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Second round: IF Hotaka Yamakawa (Fuji University, Iwate)

Yamakawa saw a handful of ichi-gun games in his first two years, but played more in 2016 where he initially made the opening day roster. After being sent down to ni-gun two weeks removed from Opening Day, Yamakawa hit more than 20 HRs on the farm and was called up to spark a second half where he had 14 HRs at the ichi-gun level.

A similar season happened in 2017, where he was farmed in April, but called up for the second half and won two monthly MVP awards for August and September. 

Yamakawa won the Pacific League MVP award in 2018 and has been the home run king in back-to-back seasons for 2018-2019. He has mostly been the team's cleanup hitter in this time. 

 Grade: A- 

Hindsight: Yuito Mori was taken by the Softbank Hawks. Katsuki Matayoshi was drafted by the Dragons. 

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Third round: P Takuya Toyoda (TDK, Akita) 

The Lions took a shakaijin with the third round pick and Toyoda initially took some medium leverage innings in 2014, where he appeared in 34 games with a 4.54 ERA on a bad team. He only played in three games for 2015 and saw mop up duty in 2016. With Toyoda failing to play at the ichi-gun level in 2017, his time is running out. After almost no activity in 2018, he was cut after the year as a senryokugai. Grade: F

Hindsight: IF Kosuke Tanaka was taken by the Carp. OF Hiromi Oka was drafted by the Fighters. P Kazuto Taguchi was drafted by the Giants. P Ryo Akiyoshi was drafted by the Swallows. 

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Fourth round: IF Kazuki Kaneko (Nichidai Fujisawa HS, Kanagawa)

Kaneko saw a brief stint at the ichi-gun in 2018 where he hit well for six games in place of an injured Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura. After taking several years to make the ichi-gun, he fell out of favor in 2019 with rookie Ryusei Sato passing him on the depth chart.  His 2019 ni-gun slashline of .152/.244/.176 made him expendable and he was cut after the season as a senryokugai. Grade: D-

Hindsight: P Hirotoshi Takanashi was taken by the Fighters. OF Seiji Uebayashi was drafted by the Hawks. C Ryutaro Umeno was taken by the Tigers.  

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Fifth round: P Takayuki Yamaguchi (Toyota East, Iwate)

Shakaijin Yamaguchi played for two industrial league teams prior to being drafted. He failed to play a single ichi-gun game for his career and was cut after the 2016 season, finishing his third year with the team. His final ni-gun season had him play nine games, pitching a combined seven innings with a 15.43 ERA.  Grade: F

Hindsight: P Yuta Nakamura was taken by the Carp. 

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Sixth round: C Masatoshi Okada (Osaka Gas, Osaka) 

Okada is remembered for being the battery teammate of Sho Nakata while at Osaka Toin, as Nakata himself was a pitcher besides a slugger. Drafted as a shakaijin, the Lions were able to play Okada immediately as a backup catcher.

Okada has been the backup catcher since being taken and has been adequate behind Mori and Ginjiro Sumitani in the past. He could also come in as a pinch bunter if necessary. Okada reached domestic free agency in 2021. Grade: B

Hindsight: Akihiro Hakumura was drafted by the Fighters. Kota Futaki was drafted by the Marines and is a rotation starter. P Suguru Iwazaki was taken by the Tigers and has been a mainstay at the ichi-gun level where he recently became a middle reliever. 

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Seventh round: P Kentaro Fukukura (Daichi Kogyo University, Kagoshima) 

Fukukura had a productive 2015 season in ni-gun, but only saw one ichi-gun game that year as his reward. In 2017, he saw a handful of ichi-gun games as the Lions mop up pitcher where he recorded a 6.00 ERA in 18 innings. Fukukura fell out of favor in 2018 and stayed in ni-gun, resulting in him being part of the senryokugai when the year was over. Grade: D-

Hindsight: P Shuta Ishikawa was taken by the Hawks as an ikusei pick. 

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Overall

This class found three ichi-gun regulars, making this grade easy.  Multiple MVP awards and another who served plenty of time at the top.  Grade: A

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