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Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP)

Saturday, October 22, 2022

2022 NPB Draft: A summary of each Lions pick

 


The Saitama Seibu Lions and all 11 other NPB teams took part in the NPB Draft on October 20. Everyone felt they got better, removing some deadweight while picking up some fresh blood in the process. Here is a summary of each Lions draft pick:

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OF Takuya Hiruma (蛭間 拓哉)


College: Waseda University (Tokyo)

High School: Urawa Gakuin (Saitama)

Date of Birth: September 8, 2000

Height: 177 cm (5' 9")

Weight: 87kg (192 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Left/Left

After the Lions made their intention to go for Hiruma, no one tried to contest this pick as they got him unopposed. 

Hiruma was one of the most accomplished university sluggers in this year's class. A member of the U18 Samurai Japan, he showed the potential for base running speed, hitting for average and power. Some could argue he has enough to be a five-tool player where he doesn't have a major weakness in any category. 

In 56 total games at university, he had a .276 batting average with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs in 50 starts. Hiruma was the cleanup hitter and can primarily play in Centerfield and Right Field. He can run to first base in about 4.2 seconds. 

Before high school, he was a member of the Lions junior team. At Urawa Gakuin, he was teammates with Lions pitcher Yutaro Watanabe. 

If everything goes right, he could be an instant impact player for a Lions team that's missing a key piece or core player in the outfield. They're hoping he can do it all. 

Team quote: "He's an outfielder from the Lions junior team with a high level of offense and defense. With his power hitting and all-out play, we expect him to be a regular earlier than usual."

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OF Yudai Furukawa (古川 雄大)


High School: Saiki Kakujo (Oita)

Date of Birth: May 25, 2004

Height: 186 cm (6' 1")

Weight: 90 kg (198 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Furukawa is a two-way player with a strong swing. His top velocity as a pitcher is 145 KM/H. He had strong measurements for throwing and running as he reached first base in 4.3 seconds. He can run 50 meters in 5.9 seconds. 

With no Koshien Tournament experience, he made an impression during the Oita prefecture qualifiers in four games played as Centerfield and as the cleanup hitter. 

His style of play is inspired by Yuki Yanagita of the Softbank Hawks. He hopes to be of his caliber in the future and even has the nickname "Oitagita."

In gridiron football terms, Furukawa is an Al Davis kind of player with all the great athletic measurements which can't be coached. He has the potential to be a power hitter if he can develop his bat in the long run. 

Trivially, he was born to a Japanese father and Filipino mother. He also shares the same name as a celebrity actor/singer talent. 

Team quote: "He is a top class athlete who can become a regular outfielder in the future."

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C Kaito Noda (野田 海人)



High School: Kyushu Kokusai (Fukuoka)

Date of Birth: March 18, 2005

Height: 174 cm (5' 9")

Weight: 78 kg (172 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Noda is another two-way player drafted as a catcher. His top velocity as a pitcher is 145 km/h. By the time it was his senior season, he primarily served as the team captain and was at catcher with a pop speed of 1.9 seconds. 

Last September, he was also on the U18 Samurai Japan with Hiruma as a relief pitcher. His school also qualified for the 2022 Summer Koshien where he was the cleanup hitter. His bat wasn't the greatest in production, but scouts saw his physical form and swing to draw attention. 

He can reach first base in about 4.5 seconds. Long term, he could develop into a starting catcher. 

Team quote: "He is a catcher with excellent footwork and throwing skills. Should be competing in a few years."

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P Minato Aoyama (青山 美夏人)


College: Asia (Tokyo)

High School: Yokohama Hayato (Kanagawa)

Date of Birth: July 19, 2000

Height: 183 cm (6' 0")

Weight: 94 kg (207 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Aoyama was an accomplished college pitcher by his senior season, where he excelled as a starting pitcher. In his four years and playing 30 recorded games, he has a 1.77 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 116.2 innings. He was an ERA leader in his senior year and performed well in the national university tournament to draw scouts attention. 

His max velocity is 151 km/h where he's constantly north of 140 km/h. Besides a fastball, he can throw a curve, slider, splitter and two-seamer. While he is experienced as both a reliever and starter, the Lions think he can be the latter as he showed his strengths last year.

A plus for Aoyama is how he's a control pitcher. 

Team quote: "He is a full-fledged right-hander who has the power to throw a fastball to amaximum of 150 km/h. There are high hopes for him as a starting pitcher because of his variety of curve and breaking balls."

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P Haruto Yamada (山田 陽翔)


High School: Ohmi (Shiga)

Date of Birth: May 9, 2004

Height: 175 cm (5' 9")

Weight: 78 kg (172 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Yamada is a two-way player who could also be in the outfield, but drafted as a pitcher.  He famously carried his team in this past Summer Koshien Tournament to the semifinals and was a relief pitcher in their semifinal appearance in 2021. 

As a pitcher, he can top out at 149 km/h with several breaking balls in his arsenal. Specifically, he's best with vertical and horizontal cutters. 

As a runner, he can reach first base in 4.4 seconds and had 30 total home runs in his high school career.  Since he's a Koshien Tournament darling, Yamada should have a decent following behind him as they're now Lions fans. Someday, the Lions hope to see him as an ichi-gun regular. 

Team quote: "He had a great amount of fighting spirit and courage on the mound during his Koshien Tournament play. I feel he'll have a variety of pitches in the future."

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IF Ryosuke Kodama (児玉 亮涼)




Industrial League Team: Osaka Gas (Osaka)

College: Kyushu Sangyo (Fukuoka)

High School: Buntoku (Kumamoto)

Date of Birth: July 10, 1998

Height: 166 cm (5' 5")

Weight: 65 kg (143 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Kodama was the starting shortstop for Osaka Gas where he hit second in the lineup. He's a light hitting player with decent speed, but his defense is the primary strength. 

He can run 50 meters in 5.9 seconds and reach first base in 4.2 seconds. His playing style is similar to Hirokazu Ibata, remembered for being with the Chunichi Dragons. 

In the short term, he looks like a defensive replacement and pinch runner. 

Team Quote: "Despite his small stature, he is a high-level player with an excellent intelligence for baseball. His swing is compact and can specialize against breaking pitches."

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Ikusei

IF Kazuki Nomura (野村 和輝)


Independent League Team: 
Ishikawa Million Stars (BC League, Ishikawa)

High School: Higashi Osaka Kashiwara (Osaka)

Date of Birth: June 7, 2003

Height: 183 cm (6' 0")

Weight: 93 kg (205 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Nomura is a two-way player who can also play in the outfield. Since joining the Million Stars, he was a regular third baseman, but also right fielder. 

In 55 starts within the BC League, he has a .246 batting average, two he runs and 20 RBIs while playing multiple positions. 

As a pitcher, he can hit up to 151 km/h with a fastball, slider, curve, splitter and fork in his arsenal. He only pitched once in the BC League. 

With his versatility on not having an affirmed position, the Lions can develop him into somewhere that makes sense. 

Team quote: "He's a big infielder, a long-range and has a bright future ahead of him."

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OF Montell Higuma (日隈 モンテル)


Independent League Team: Tokushima Indigo Socks (Tokushima, Shikoku Island League)

High School: Konko Osaka (Osaka)

Date of Birth: March 18, 2000

Height: 186 cm (6' 1")

Weight: 86 kg (190 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Higuma is a two-way player who primarily switched to outfield with the Indigo Socks. He also played independent baseball with the Ryukyu Blue Oceans and Shakaijin baseball with OBC Takashima in the past.

In 26 games in the Shikoku Island League, he recorded a .247 batting average and 13 stolen bases while batting second in the lineup as a centerfielder. 

Scouts caught attention to his speed as he can reach first base in 4.1 seconds. If his bat can develop, he could be a defensive replacement or pinch runner if he earns a promotion.

Born to an African-American father and Japanese mother, the latter served in the military. He is also the younger brother of former Yakult Swallows pitcher Julius Higuma (drafted in 2015, was with them from 2016-2020). 

Team quote: "He has excellent physical ability and is a player full of speed."

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P Daiki Miura (三浦 大輝)


College: Chukyo (Aichi)

High School: Jishukan (Aichi)

Date of Birth: April 7, 2000

Height: 180 cm (5' 11")

Weight: 92 kg (203 lbs)

Throws / Bats: Right / Left

Miura is a Best IX winner who recorded a 2.02 ERA, 46 strikeouts in 80.1 innings of work in 29 games throughout his collegiate career. He has experience as both a starter and reliever. Miura was more of a reliever in his later years. 

His top velocity is 151 km/H while able to mix his repertoire with curveballs and sliders sprinkled in-between. 

Team Quote: "In addition to his powerful fastball, he also has a variety of breaking balls, and is a pitcher who can strike out hitters. There are high hopes for him as a starting pitcher and intermediate player in the future."

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C Ryosuke Koresawa (是澤 涼輔)

College: Hosei (Tokyo)

High School: Kendai Takasaki (Gunma)

Date of Birth: April 19, 2000

Height: 178 cm (5' 10")

Weight: 79 kg (174 lbs)

Throws / Bats: Right / Right

Koresawa was mostly a backup catcher at Hosei in the Tokyo Big6. He only appeared in three games for his senior season with only one start recorded. 

The Lions liked his shoulder strength and think he can build on this through practice and getting reps. They also saw high intelligence. He can throw as far as 120 meters. 

With other catchers like Masatoshi Okada coming off surgery, the Lions have needed catchers for the farm level. 

Trivially, he's three years younger than Sena Tsuge as both attended the same high school and count as Senpai/Kohai. 

Team Quote: "The strength of his shoulders was the selling point. He will be an ambitious practice bug."

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Overall:

The Lions drafted for need, but some could argue Hiruma was the best position player available for those lacking a bat who can make an instant impact. 

With multiple players having two-way capability, it will be interesting to see how the staff utilizes them. Yamada will be intriguing in a few years while Aoyama, Kodama and Hiruma could play sooner than later. We wish these picks the best of luck as they join the team in 2023.

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Lions win rights to Hiruma in uncontested 2022 draft

 


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The 2022 NPB Draft took place on  Thursday night with more than 100 players selected. 

A total of nine teams including the Saitama Seibu Lions announced their first round draft nomination before the event even took place. All players were not matching, only a matter of wondering what the Chiba Lotte Marines, Hanshin Tigers and Yokohama DeNA Baystars would do as they stayed secretive.

In the end, the Lions ended up with outfielder Takuya Hiruma of Waseda University. 

Hiruma is capable of helping the Lions sooner than later with decent base running speed and power in his bat. Some articles have even compared him to Masataka Yoshida. 

He was also a high school teammate of current Lions pitcher Yutaro Watanabe when at Urawa Gakuin and was part of a junior Lions team. By the time it was his senior year in college, he was the team's cleanup hitter. 

With the Lions needing help in the outfield, they're hoping Hiruma can be a short term fix. Many outfielders we're rotational and couldn't keep an every day stronghold on their position. He'll likely slot into Centerfield or right field.

Here are all the Lions draft picks from 2022:

1. OF Takuya Hiruma, Waseda University (Tokyo)

2. OF Yuta Furukawa, Saiki Kakujo High School (Oita)

3. C Kaito Noda, Kyushu Kokusai High School (Fukuoka)

4. P Minato Aoyama, Asia University (Tokyo)

5. P Haruto Yamada, Ohmi High School (Shiga) 

6. IF Ryosuke Kodama, Osaka Gas (Osaka)

i1. P Kazuki Nomura, Ishikawa Million Stars (Ishikawa)

i2. OF Montell Higuma, Tokushima Indigo Socks (Tokushima)

i3. P Daiki Miura, Chukyo University (Aichi)

i4. OF Ryosuke Koresawa, Hosei University (Tokyo)

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Here are some early polls from the Japanese Twitter Community about Hiruma and the draft class as a whole:



We will have further research and details on the entire Lions draft in a future post. 

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Lions announce coaching staff for 2023

 


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Kazuo Matsui had his first public press conference announcing the Saitama Seibu Lions staff for the 2023 season on Tuesday. 

While answering many questions about being the new skipper taking over for a retiring Hatushiko Tsuji, a handful of changes were made to the staff with some coaches moving back up to ichi-gun and others were not retained. 

Yosuke Hiraishi, who joined the staff from the Softbank Hawks after 2021, is now the team's second-in-command at head coach.

Shogo Akada is on the ichi-gun staff and Shigenobu Shima returns there for the first time in three years. 

The new staff members include Hiroyuki Oshima, who was preciously a scout; Tetsuya Utsumi and Masato Kumashiro, who both retired as players.

Coaches not returning for 2023 on the main staff include Tomoaki Sato, Norio Tanabe and Tatsuyuki Uemoto. 

Here is the full staff list:

Ichi-gun:

Manager: Kazuo Matsui (previously head coach)


Head Coach: Yosuke Hiraishi (previously with hitting coach)


Pitching coach: Hayato Aoki

Pitching coach: Kiyoshi Toyoda

Battery coach: Kosuke Noda

Hitting coach: Shigenobu Shima (previously ni-gun field coach)

Hitting coach: Hisashi Takayama 

Infield Defense and Base Running (3rd base): Satoshi Kuroda

Outfield Defense and Base Running (1st base): Shogo Akada (previously ni-gun outfield defense and base running coach)


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Ni-gun:


Manager: Fumiya Nishiguchi 

Lead Pitching coach: Eiji Kiyokawa

Field General/Hitting coach: Tatsuya Ozeki

Hitting Coach: Hiroyuki Oshima* (previously a scout)

Pitching coach: Shuichiro Osada 

Pitching coach: Tetsuya Utsumi*

Pitching coach: Tatsuya Oishi

Battery coach: Shota Nakata 

Infield Defense and Base Running: Masahiro Abe

Outfield Defense and Base Running: Masato Kumashiro*

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San-gun

Battery coach: Yuta Arakawa (previously bullpen catcher and assistant farm manager)

Defense: Yuji Onizaki (previously academy coach)

*New face on staff

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Lions pass baton to Matsui as 2022 season ends

 


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I'd like to first off say apologies for no instant write ups on the Climax Series. It was a vacation week on the west coast involving a wedding and other family matters. 

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Lions season ends in Fukuoka

The Lions came into Fukuoka as heavy underdogs returning to the Climax Series for the first time since 2019. It ended with a dud as Kona Takahashi and Tatsuya Imai couldn't keep the games close as the former gave up four runs early on. 

As close as the Lions got within one run in the first game, it wasn't enough to overcome a sluggish start. It became the ninth consecutive playoff loss and all of them have been against the Softbank Hawks. They have the longest active Climax Series win drought being stuck on 2011.

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Hatushiko Tsuji steps down, torch passed to Kazuo Matsui

Before the Climax Series even started, manager Tsuji announced he would retire when the postseason is over. There was an early announcement of possible retirement after the disastrous 2021 season, but it became for real in 2022. Tsuji returned to the organization for the first time since being a player in 2017 after working for the Chunichi Dragons in multiple years.

Kazuo Matsui was named the manager to succeed Tsuji, a foregone conclusion many have expected since he was part of the ichi-gun staff in 2022. He rejoined the team in 2018 initially as a player coach.

Matsui, who will be 47 later this month, served as the farm manager from 2019-2021 after retiring as a player in 2018. The Lions named him the ichi-gun head coach (bench coach in American terms) for 2022. It was easy to assume he would be the heir manager sooner than later.

We wish him the best as he puts together a new staff.

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Lions name their draft nomination

The NPB Draft is taking place this Thursday and the Lions openly announced their nomination as OF Takyuya Hiruma out of Waseda University.  Hiruma is thought to be the best college position player available and should be contested among a few teams. 

Most see the top draft prize as OF Shogo Asano out of Takamatsu Shogyo High School, who will likely have the largest drawing.

Other alternatives the Lions could go for include P Ruito Nishimura (Kyoto Gaidai Nishi High School), OF Shion Matsuo (Osaka Toin) and IF Mikaya Tanaka (Asia University).  

While it's unclear what the Lions plan could be if they lose out on Hiruma, they want someone who can help the offense sooner than later.

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Free agency becomes the new scare

The life of being a Lions isn't always fun and especially during free agency it becomes a wreck. This year, Tomoya Mori and Shuta Tonosaki reached domestic free agency with the ability to exercise the option and test the market if they want. 

It's been a common theme to use the Lions as leverage for someone else to have a sweeter offer later. We'll see what happens.

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Lions enter postseason for first time in three years

 


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First of all I'd like to apologize for the lack of activity in writing due to September and October being very heavy months in trips that were scheduled awhile back. It's been easy to track them, but to sit down and write? A little to difficult.  I'll mention everything in notes and by timeline.

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Lions overcome awful losing streak to make postseason

It wasn't a pretty month of September and some could argue the Lions were backed in. They lost their pennant aspiration very quickly after being swept in Fukuoka by the SoftBank Hawks. They even lost three games at home to the Rakuten Eagles but salvaged a fourth game, snapping a season-high seven-gamd losing streak. 

Despite the Eagles having games in hand, they weren't able to win them and it setup a very important makeup game in Sendai with the Lions nursing a 0.5 game lead. A win all but assured an A-class finish. 

Tatsuya Imai played the best game of his career with eight shutout innings and even with a high pitch count holding the Eagles to four hits. The only Lions score of the game was a solo HR from Shota Hiranuma, who last hit one in 2019. 

The Lions clinched when the SoftBank Hawks defeated the Eagles one more time. To put icing on the cake, Hotaka Yamakawa hit a sayonara HR against the Hawks to prevent any clinching pennant part for the opposition. 

Later in the week, the Orix Buffaloes ended up snatching the Pacific League pennant with a win vs Rakuten combined with a Hawks loss in China, setting up a Lions Climax Series in Fukuoka.

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Veterans retire

While it was already documented Tetsuya Utsumi would retire and had his ceremony in the middle of the month, two more NPB veterans announced they would retire. 

Ken Togame finished his three year contract and saw minimal action since signing it after 2019. He was a former first round pick in 2011 and mostly spent time as a mid rotation starter unable to have consistent seasons Togame ended his career with a strikeout against the Fighters. 

Shota Takekuma also announced retirement. A long time reliever, Takekuma spent most of his career as a lefty specialist and even saw time as a setup man. Later in his career, he was a spot starter. After seeing plenty of action in 2021, he didn't play a game in 2022. 

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Lions announce player departures 

With the regular season concluded, it is time for all teams to announce players who won't be returning or offered a contract for the next year. The Lions first wave of cuts had five ikusei players and C Shoya Makino.

Makino, 21, made his ichi-gun debut this season an appeared in 11 games, recording four hits and a triple. He had surgery in June. 

The five ikusei players who will be let go include P Hiromasa Saito, P Kaito Awatsu, P Toshihiro Idei, P Sho Ito and P Towa Uema. With the exception of Idei, everyone else was once a draft pick of the Lions and played at the ichi-gun for a brief time.

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Looking ahead to the Climax Series

The Lions have to go to Fukuoka, everyone's least favorite venue where they have a bad history.  In 2022, their head to head record is 10-14-1.

In Climax Series history, they've lost a postseason series to the Hawks in 2011, 2012, 2018 and 2019. 

Before the Climax Series existed, they won a postseason series in Fukuoka back in 2004. 

The Hawks pitching has more flexibility in starting after Kodai Senga while it's likely the Lions will use Kona Takahashi, Tatsuya Imai and Wataru Matsumoto.  

Odds favor the Hawks based on history and both teams, however, the Lions have shown they can pitch with the rest of the league. 

Question is, can they score? The offense has mostly been a one man show with Hotaka Yamakawa while some expected more from Brian O'Grady. They've depended on random contributions from role players and even part time players like Hiranuma, Shohei Suzuki and Aito in the past. 

Games are played for a reason and even though the odds aren't in their favor, there is a chance if they can score and not play with any nerves. Pressure is on the Hawks with the outside expectations. 

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Follow us on Twitter @GraveyardBall