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The Saitama Seibu Lions became the first team to 40 wins in 2026 as they sit on a record of 41-23-2 and currently hold a first place lead over the defending champion SoftBank Hawks by 3.5 games.
Even better, they clinched the 2026 Interleague championship at Koshien Stadium with a 1-0 win over the Hanshin Tigers on June 16. It was a very tight race as the Lions went 14-3-1 and both the Hawks and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters were right behind at 14-4.
What has led to this surge and signs of being a first place squad? Let's dive into our observations;
Tyler Nevin returned, even winning an award
Nevin returned right as the month of May started and he made an immediate impact on the first day. He took home the Pacific League position player of the month award for the second time in his career, where he also won it for May 2025.
At nine home runs in May while also hitting for average, the patience by the Lions staff to let him heal at the beginning of the year is paying off.
The offense has shown more power as a result, he's done his job as a cleanup hitter. However, the offense has taken a tumble on the days he isn't in the lineup. What became vital was how Nevin helped fill an offensive void the moment Masayuki Kuwahara went down for multiple weeks to begin May.
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Lions rotation remains as deep
Starting pitching has been the bread and butter of this team even in the awful 2024 season. It's possible this is the best unit we've seen in our fandom lifetime with Kaima Taira, Kona Takahashi, Chihiro Sumida and Natsuki Takeuchi carrying a majority of the rotation while others have stepped up when needed.
Yutaro Watanabe has also established himself as a starter which created a great problem of who to begin a game. Others like Shinya Sugai and Sou Sato have also contributed to this group with the latter filling in with the right matchup.
This is a pitching group to be feared with several Major League candidates in the future. It's a bonus the Lions are getting an extra year of Kona Takahashi when MLB teams rejected his services last offseason. He has earned international free agency rights if a team shows interest this time around.
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Patience has paid off for Allan Winans, Trey Wingenter
Winans did not start an ichi-gun game until May 17, yet he's done an excellent job in four of his five starts up to this point to keep the team competitive in his outings.
He won't be asked to do as much and is treated like a rotational starter as the bullpen can come in. Right now, the Lions look smart to keep him aside for the entire month of April.
Wingenter started the year with an injury and the bullpen took its hit, but he should be fine now with a conservative approach on waiting to bring him back.
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Breakout seasons bring optimism to a new group
Natsuo Takizawa and Shinya Hasegawa have taken leaps forward into helping revive a Lions offense that was below average for six years. Hasegawa will likely lead the team in home runs behind Nevin while Takizawa has shown to a smart light hitting infielder that the team has envisioned. Both were former Ikusei draft picks.
Others like Taiga Kojima will push Yuto Koga to perform with the bat as both guys split catching and hitting time. On occasion, one will DH for a game just to add some offense. For a first round rookie, Kojima is doing an excellent job behind the plate and with his bat. Even Sena Tsuge is solid in a spell role behind both primary catchers.
The big surprise early on was Taiga Hirasawa, a former Active Player draft claim who had a three week stretch from April to keep some offense in the Lions lineup.
He has since cooled off and cannot be an everyday player, but it's good to know the Lions have a spell/part time option who can be useful on the infield.
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Defense remains a strength, a trait from the past
The Lions have commonly had at least one defensive webgem every game whether that involves Seiya Watanabe, Takizawa or anyone else on the infield.
They make the plays look easy, often saving a run or two. But even pickoff moves by the Lions pitchers have made a difference and saved them in several instances. This always keep the team competitive even on the strange days.
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Time is ticking for a few Lions
Takuya Hiruna, An-Ko Lin and possibly Takayoshi Yamamura can't find an everyday role when they had the opportunities in past seasons or this past spring. Lin has mostly been overwhelmed by Japanese pitchers and with Alexander Canario being the better option with more athleticism, there's not much room for him unless there's injuries.
Hasegawa's recent emergence also hurts his chances. This year could be a down season for Manaya Nishikawa, as his role has diminished up to this point. At one point a leadoff hitter, he's often batting last when starting or he has become a defensive replacement. Nishikawa will still be given a longer leash than the others.
Yamamura's bat just hasn't cut it in past seasons and he may be just a defensive replacement moving forward. But the largest disappoint would be Hiruma as a former first round pick. He has yet to see an ichi-gun game in 2026 and with others in front of him on the depth chart, it's safe to call him a bust in Year 4 as he turns 26 this September and his ceiling is caving in.
Could this also be the end of veteran Shuta Tonosaki? He only has nine ichi-gun games and younger players have taken over. At least Sosuke Genda still sees the field as a defensive replacement and part time starter.
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Hiroshi Kaino is also paying off
Kaino wasn't the first free agent compensation choice by the Lions when Hotaka Yamakawa walked in free agency. Tsuyoshi Wada was available and the Lions tried to cash in on his presence.
However, after some dust settled, Kaino was the more practical option for on the field performance without the marketing/asset money. Now at 100 career Holds, he has majority of them in a Lions uniform over the last three seasons. It's possible he could close games, but has already earned the high leverage innings in middle relief.
The Lions have chosen the safe path of take the money and run when losing a free agent with compensation. Other times they've taken a player whom they think can fill an instant need. Hayato Takagi and Yaku Cho were past examples. But it's safe to say Kaino is the Lions best player compensation selection since Ryota Wakiya.
Meanwhile, Yamakawa was recently sent down to ni-gun in Chikugo for the Hawks.
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Lions bullpen remains the elephant in the room
The most shaky unit of the bunch is the bullpen. In spite of not having awful numbers, they've found ways to keep it close or too dramatic.
Rookie Hakua Iwaki was a bold call by manager Fumiya Nishiguchi to be the closer at the start of the year. Overall, he's too wild to keep as a 9th inning pitcher.
Hibiki Shinohara is the most promising of the bunch, but still very young and raw at only 19 years old. Ideally Wingenter and Kaino can be part of that back end with one of them closing, but who takes the middle relief if the starter only goes 5 innings? It's more uncertain.
Masaya Kuroda, Taishi Mameda, Sou Sato and Taiga Ueda remain unproven for a high leverage moment and likely show up when the options are thin.
For now, we can conclude that Iwaki is not the closing answer for 2026 with how much he allows walks and hits, potentially being home run prone.
Could this until make or break the Lions for the second of the season? Absolutely.
Nishiguchi has given his starters the ace treatment with several complete games already for Sumida and Takahashi. Even in a 2-1 game in Fukuoka, Takahashi was forced to finish it himself in the 9th.
There could be theories to keep the bullpen fresh and not overwork anyone like Katsunori Hirai in 2019, but the performance has warranted some decisions to stretch the starter.
In 2015, it was the collapse of Tomomi Takahashi that hurt the Lions for the season, even leading to a historic 13 game losing streak.
What happens here?
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Pacific League competition became tight
The Fighters and Chiba Lotte Marines used interleague play to get hot, but fortunately not gain ground on the Lions in the process. SoftBank predictably steamrolled the Central League to create this logjam at the top of the interleague standings.
Rakuten is the only PL team to be eliminated through interleague play as the Marines sit right at .500 at 31-31-2. Did the Fighters figure out their pitching woes? Chiba started to hit better while the Orix Buffaloes took a small step back, but even they had a winning record at 9-8-1 against Central League opponents.
The vibes alone say the Pacific League will win the Japan Series again this October, but who represent it? The door is wide open and there's no guarantees with the Lions bullpen situation.
SoftBank remains the favorite as they dealt with injuries in May and the Lions took advantage in the two-game series down in Fukuoka, but the signs say they'll go on a run into first place.
Are the Lions ready to respond? We'll find out.
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