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The Lions have the lowest team ERA in the entire NPB through June 21. Looking back to 2015-2016, the pitching was the opposite with an injured ace and no proven supporter.
Kona Takahashi has lived up to being an ace and not just a team ace by default. Kaito Yoza has done a nice job filling in for an injured Tatsuya Imai. Katsunori Hirai has been great since filling in as a spot starter.
Even Chihiro Sumida and Shunsuke Sato have promise as rookies.
What has made this rotation great is the foreign signing of Dietrich Enns, who has kept his rotation spot since being with the ichi-gun.
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Bullpen reliability has been critical
Tatsushi Masuda came off a brutal 2021 season, but flipped the script thus far in 2022. Kaima Taira had a handful of blown games, but he's been fine as the setup man with Yoshinobu Mizukami taking the 8th and 7th innings, respectively.
Even Keisuke Honda, Takeru Sasaki and Ryosuke Moriwaki are decent in middle relief. The depth at this position has been one of the best. It's possible Bo Takahashi could be a long term project which the coaches will evaluate as the season goes on.
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Yamakawa is the Lions offense
On the flip side, the offense is what holds the Lions back from being great. They've been on the losing end of two no-hitters this season and the scoring is based on how Yamakawa does.
Only Brian O'Grady among qualifies hitters has an OPS above .700. Speaking of O'Grady, he's been a good addition and it's possible his double number should be less due to some hits being close to home runs.
The Lions continue to shuffle lineups in hope of having a stable outfield.
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This team has made progress, yet the offensive numbers indicate they could come up short. There is an entire second half remaining and it will be an uphill battle.
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