Report: Lions sign LHP Dietrich Enns

===

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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Eight years later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2013 draft class

 

===

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. 

===

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

#埼玉西武ライオンズ 2013ドラフトクラスの採点方法を教えてください?

How do you grade the #SeibuLions 2013 Draft class?

Please RT and spread @Cape_Lions
@64Uni_Lions
@nerimamo
#NPBeng #森友哉#山川穂高#豊田拓矢#金子一輝#山口嵩之#岡田雅利#福倉健太郎

— Graveyard Baseball (@GraveyardBall) November 15, 2021

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Nine years later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2012 draft class

 

The 2012 NPB Draft had several pitchers with hype and in hindsight, even more gems were found. Here's how the Saitama Seibu Lions did when taking this draft:

First round: P Tatsushi Masuda (NTT West, Osaka) 

The Lions were one of three teams who attempted to go for P Nao Higashihama and lost to the Softbank Hawks. Masuda became the plan B which required another drawing head to head against the Hiroshima Carp, which Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe would win.

Despite being 24, Masuda was projected as an early pick among the shakaijin available and has been a back end reliever for the Lions. He was a setup man from 2013-2015 and proved to be reliable. Masuda became the closer in 2016 and it has worked out well. He rarely walks batters and limits home runs, though he allowed a career high of seven in 2017. After having a down yaer in 2018, he was one of the best closers in the league for 2019. After a dominant 2020, the Lions were able to retain Masuda from leaving in free agency. He ended up having an awful 2021, but a player reaching free agency still indicates success.  Grade: A-

Hindsight: Higashihama has been a front end starter for the Hawks after battling injuries. He's become a later bloomer. 

Shohei Ohtani was taken unopposed by the Fighters, but all other teams were scared he would not sign with a team that drafted him as he had MLB intentions at the time. P Takahiro Matsunaga was taken by the Marines as a fallback option. After not signing with the Fighters a year before, Tomoyuki Sugano was drafted by the Giants where he spent a year as a grad student without playing. 

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Second round: P Makoto Aiuchi (Chiba Kokusai HS, Chiba)

Aiuchi is an orphan and it's unclear what his true ethnicity is. His pro career started ugly when he was caught speeding and driving without a proper license in the December after he was taken, but the Lions still chose to give him a chance. His early troubles are why he wasn't even pictured in the above photo.

He has experience of going to the Melbourne Aces in the winter and has mostly seen time in ni-gun. However, he has failed at the ichi-gun level when being a spot starter and has usually been lit up.

Unfortunately, Aiuchi has also served a suspension in 2014 for being caught smoking and drinking underage at 19 while wearing the team uniform. His training was separate from other ni-gun players as a result. With other pitchers on the roster, he has a major uphill battle. In 2020, he was caught breaking team COVID protocols and it all but ended his baseball career. Aiuchi was part of the roster cuts after the 2020 season as he switched careers to become a fighter (Not Nippon-Ham)  Grade: D-

Hindsight: OF Seiya Suzuki was drafted by the Carp. P Takahiro Norimoto was taken by the Eagles. IF Fumiya Hojo was drafted by the Tigers and despite having an injured 2017, he could be a promising starter for them in the future. P Yasuhiro "Ryan" Ogawa was drafted by the Swallows. 

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Third round: IF Yuji Kaneko (Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto)

Kaneko was taken as an infielder and was mostly platooned from 2013-2015. A switch hitter, Kaneko's speed and slick fielding looked promising for him to be the team's shortstop. However, his defense regressed in 2016 with several throwing errors and Norio Tanabe planted him in right field instead, where his defense didn't need to be worried about. He was tied for the Pacific League stolen base king in 2016 with 53 and has shown to be a decent slap hitter.

He began the 2017 injured with shin splits, but Hatsuhiko Tsuji put him in right field once he was healthy and his slap hitting was useful again. In a shortened season, he still had 25 stolen bases and ended the year starting in left field. As a regular left fielder, Kaneko has been the stolen base king for three years, which includes at least 32 stolen bags in each of those years. 

With the departure of Shogo Akiyama, Kaneko couldn't be the answer in CF. His bat has regressed and his recent extension is looking like a mistake. 

   Grade: B-

Hindsight: C Tatsuhiro Tamura was drafted by the Marines in this round. P Shoichi Ino was taken by the Baystars. 

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Fourth round: P Tomomi Takahashi (Seino Unyu, Gifu)

Takahashi looked to be a steal of the draft when he had a dominant 2014 season as the closer while Masuda was the setup man. After having a strong first half to 2015, he regressed and the Lions were stuck with trying to figure out their closer situation since he struggled.

Takahashi underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 and missed most of the year as well as majority of the 2017 season. He saw one ichi-gun game and failed to record an out, registering an infinite ERA for the year. After another injury setback and demotion, he was given an ikusei contract for 2019 and 2020, where he never regained form. He retired after the 2020 season. His career is just a flash in the pan.  Grade: D+ 

Hindsight: OF Shohei Kato was taken by the Marines. 

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Fifth round: P Isamu Sato (Konan HS, Fukushima) 

Sato had a promising 2016 in ni-gun which earned a promotion to the ichi-gun in that year. With multiple starts and other soft appearances out of the bullpen, he went 1-3 with a 5.76 ERA in 25 innings of work.

Unfortunately, Sato was involved in a auto accident in the middle of 2016 and served a team suspension. Things got worse as Sato had a poor 2017 in ni-gun and fell out of favor in comparison to others in the farm system. He was cut by the Lions after 2017 and retired from baseball altogether. Grade: D-

Hindsight: P Kazuyuki Kaneda was taken by the Hanshin Tigers in this round.  IF Toshiro Miyazaki was taken by the Baystars in the 6th round and won a Central League batting title in 2017.  

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Ikusei: IF Daichi Mizuguchi (Kagawa Olive Guyners, Kagawa)

The Lions took their second ever ikusei pick in franchise history in Mizuguchi out of the Shikoku Island Independent League. An undersized infielder, Mizuguchi worked his way to a promotion up to the 70-man roster in the middle of the 2015 season for his hitting production in ni-gun.

In 2016, Mizuguchi became the first ikusei to play an ichi-gun game in franchise history and appeared in 20 games. He saw most of the 2017 season at the ichi-gun as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, where he hit .280/.294/.340. His playing time has continued to shrink with 30 ichi-gun games combined from 2018-2019 where he mostly served as a pinch runner. Mizuguchi became expendable with Junichiro Kishi as a younger option. He was cut after the 2020 season. Grade: C

Hindisght: P Yuya Iida was taken by the Softbank Hawks. 

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Overall: 

This class was going to look like a home run even with five players and one ikusei had Takahashi continued to be a back end reliever. Instead, it's just a good class with Masuda and Kaneko both being ichi-gun players and Mizuguchi finding his way up. Having two regulars at the ichi-gun can't make this an awful one. Grade: B-

Hindsight: The rest of the league found talent with Norimoto, Ogawa, Ohtani, Higashihama, Fujinami and more. There were better quality players drafted by others, but not many had the quantity the Lions in 2012.  

===

#埼玉西武ライオンズ 2012ドラフトクラスの採点方法を教えてください?

How do you grade the #SeibuLions 2012 Draft class?

Please RT and spread @Cape_Lions @64Uni_Lions @nerimamo #NPBeng #増田達至#相内誠#金子侑司#高橋朋己#佐藤勇#水口大地

— Graveyard Baseball (@GraveyardBall) November 14, 2021

===

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Report: Lions sign Brian O'Grady

 The Saitama Seibu Lions signed OF Brian O'Grady to an ¥80 million contract on Friday. This is the second offseason addition for the Lions since the draft. 

O'Grady, 29, most recently spent time with the San Diego Padres organization. He saw 32 games in MLB, but couldn't solidify a roster spot for the whole year. In 74 AAA games, his slashline was .281/.366/.547 with 15 home runs. He was teammates with Yu Darvish. O'Grady also had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020. 

Majority of O'Grady's career was with the Cincinnati Reds, where he was drafted out of college in 2014. He earned an MLB promotion for the first time in 2019 and appeared in 28 games with the Reds. 

At the MLB level, O'Grady saw most of his action as a pinch hitter, which gave him an even smaller sample size. He can play anywhere in the outfield and be plugged into the Lions starting lineup right away.  O'Grady can also play first base. 

On Twitter, O'Grady said he was "excited" for his new opportunity. Darvsh also gave an endorsement.  

O'Grady is the second import to join the Lions for 2022 as the team announced Zach Neal, Cory Spangenberg, Reed Garrett and Matt Dermody would not return. 

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Hiraishi among new coaches on Lions 2022 staff

 

The Saitama Seibu Lions announced their 2022 coaching staff on Wednesday. While some positions swapped to ni-gun and vice versa, Kazuo Matsui will be the ichi-gun head (bench) coach behind Hatsuhiko Tsuji. Tsuji was initially expected to step down after the 2021 season ended, but will remain manager in 2022. 

This will be a transition year as the torch will likely pass to Matsui for 2023. Yosuke Hiraishi was named as a new ichi-gun hitting coach. He previously served as the ichi-gun manager for the Rakuten Eagles from 2018-2019 and was a coach with the Softbank Hawks for the last two years.

Former catcher and bullpen catcher Shota Nakata will be a ni-gun battery coach. Shuichiro Osada was also added from the BC Challenge League's Saitama Musashi Heat Bears. Even former manager Norio Tanabe will have a larger say the ni-gun level.  Tetsuya Utsumi will also have a title of being a player and coach like Matsui before him. 

Here is the full list of coaches: 

Ichi-gun:

Manager: Hatsuhiko Tsuji
Head Coach: Kazuo Matsui (previously ni-gun manager)
Pitching coach: Hayato Aoki
Pitching coach: Kiyoshi Toyoda
Battery coach: Kosuke Noda
Hitting coach: Yosuke Hiraishi (previously with Softbank Hawks)
Hitting coach: Hisashi Takayama (previously ni-gun hitting coach)
Infield Defense and Base Running (3rd base): Satoshi Kuroda
Outfield Defense and Base Running (1st base): Tomosaki Sato

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Ni-gun:


Manager: Fumiya Nishiguchi (previously ichi-gun pitching coach)

Field coach: Norio Tanabe (previously ikusei coach)

Field General/Hitting coach: Tatsuya Ozeki

Hitting Coach: Tatsuyuki Uemoto

Lead Pitching coach: Eiji Kiyokawa

Pitching coach: Shuichiro Osada (previously with Saitama Musashi Heat Bears)

Pitching coach: Tatsuya Oishi

Battery coach: Shota Nakata (previously bullpen catcher)

Infield Defense and Base Running: Masahiro Abe

Outfield Defense and Base Running: Shogo Akada

Field coach: Shigenobu Shima

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Other

Player coach: Tetsuya Utsumi

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Lions announce players not returning for 2022

 

One of the hardest things to the end of any NPB season is saying farewell to many players as they're cleared out to make way for the new draft picks. 

The Lions announced their second wave of players who won't be offered a contract for 2022. This includes P Shunta Nakatsuka, C Hitoto Komazuki, P Hiromasa Saito, P Sho Ito, P Kaito Awatsu, IF Ryusei Tsunashima, P Mitsuo Yoshikawa and ikusei C Daichi Nakaguma. 

Earlier, the Lions announced P Daiki Enokida, P Ryuya Ogawa as well as ikusei pitchers Shinsaburo Tawata and Jiyu Okubo would not be returning. 

Nakatsuka was a second round draft pick in 2016. In his ichi-gun debut, he recorded two outs, but walked the next three batters without throwing a strike and was taken out unable to finish a game. He spent the entire 2021 season in ni-gun. 

Ito was a third round draft pick in 2017 out of the Shikoku Island League. He was used as a spot starter, but could never keep his role at the ichi-gun level. The Lions are expected to bring him back under an ikusei contract after he had Tommy John surgery.

Mitsuo Yoshikawa is remembered for mostly being a Fighters pitcher and the Lions brought him in under a low risk contract. He saw five appearances at the ichi-gun level in 2021 with no signs of promise. 

Saito was the Lions first round pick of 2017, yet despite recording a win as a long reliever, he couldn't keep his job at the ichi-gun as he'd be destroyed when pitching. At best, he could eat some innings, but failed to play an ichi-gun game in 2021. 

Awatsu saw one ichi-gun appearance in 2019 under mop up duty, but couldn't earn more as he stayed in ni-gun for the rest of his career. He was a fourth round draft pick in 2018. 

Komazuki was originally drafted as an outfielder in 2011, but made the switch to catcher after the 2015 season. He was an emergency third catcher at the ichi-gun gun level and recorded only one base hit in 2019. The Lions plan to keep him around the organization as a non-player. 

Nakaguma was an ikusei pick in 2018 and his initial three years of control gave expired. The Lions are likely to give him another ikusei contract in 2022. 

Enokida came to the Lions in 2018 as part of a trade with the Hanshin Tigers for Yosuke Okamoto and had his best career season as a rotation starter. This magic couldn't last in 2019 and his role kept diminishing as time went on. 

Ogawa came from the Chunichi Dragons in a midseason trade for 2018 as he became a situational reliever. However, his ichi-gun time plummeted down to five games in 2021. 

Tawata was once the wins leader in NPB for 2018 and remembered as a first round draft pick of the Lions I'm 2015. He had been on an ikusei contract since 2020 as health had been a problem. 

Okubo was an ikusei draft pick in 2018. His departure announcement was part of the first wave of senryokugai. 

In addition to Ito and Nakaguma, the Lions are expecting bring back Saito and Awatsu on ikusei contracts in 2022. 

We wish the best for these departing players in their next endeavors. 

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2021 NPB Draft: A summary of each Lions pick

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The Saitama Seibu Lions and all 11 other NPB teams took part in the NPB Draft on October 17. 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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P Chihiro Sumida (隅田 知一郎)

College: Nippon Nishi Kogyo (Fukuoka)

High School: Nagasaki Hasami (Nagasaki)

Date of Birth: August 20, 1999

Height: 177 cm (5' 9")

Weight: 76 kg (168 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Left/Left

Sumida can top out at 150 km/h (93 mph) with a versatile arsenal of pitches including a cutter, slider, two-seamer, changeup and fork. He was the consensus best player available and the Lions won his rights in a four way drawing. 

Team quote: "The selling point is that there are various types of pitches as well as his fastball. He's pitcher who can be part of the starting rotation."

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P Shunsuke Sato (佐藤 隼輔)

College: Tsukuba (Ibaraki)

High School: Sendai (Miyagi)

Date of Birth: January 3, 2000

Height: 182 cm (6' 0")

Weight: 83 kg (183 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Left/Left

Sato has a max velocity of 152 km/h (94 mph) with the repertoire of a fastball, slider and changeup. He had one of the fastest pitches for a left-handed pitcher and was thought to be a fallback first round option, but fell to the early second round. Sato should be a rotation candidate.

Team quote: "Live left arm. He can be a starting player in the future."

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C Yuto Koga (古賀 悠斗)

College: Chuo (Tokyo)

High School: Fukuoka Ohori (Fukuoka)

Date of Birth: September 10, 1999

Height: 174 cm (5' 9")

Weight: 85 kg (187 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Koga has a pop speed of 1.9 seconds and can hit for both power and average. After playing as an infielder, he secured the catcher position in his sophomore year. With Masatoshi Okada as a pending free agent, he can compete for a backup role with Sena Tsuge.

Team quote: "A strong-shoulder catcher with hitting power. He can be a regular catcher in the future."

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P Shinnosuke Hada (羽田 慎之介)

High School: Hachioji Gakuen (Tokyo)

Date of Birth: December 25, 2003

Height: 191 cm (6' 3")

Weight: 85 kg (187 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Left/Left

Hada can top out at 149 km/h (93 mph) while able to throw a cutter, slider, curve, changeup and splitter. In his junior season, he caught notice of scouts with 39 strikeouts in 34 innings. An injury limited his senior year where he was a reliever. Born in Saitama prefecture, Hada also played for the Lions junior team in middle school. 

A 3/4 arm slot, Hada has drawn comparisons to Masaki Oyokawa of the Hanshin Tigers. Hada is a raw pitcher who lacks control, as his walk rate was also high. 

Team quote: "A large left arm full of ability from Lions Junior team. He's a player with potential and growth potential."

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P Masaya Kuroda (黒田 将矢)

High School: Hachinohe Kogyo (Aomori)

Date of Birth: January 24, 2004

Height: 188 cm (6' 2")

Weight: 78 kg (172 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Kuroda's top velocity is 149 km/h (93 mph) as he can throw a slider, curve and fork. He was a two-way player in high school where he also played outfield and was batting 5th in the lineup. As the school's ace, he carried his team to the Aomori prefectural finals before coming up just short of qualifying for summer Koshien. The Lions think he can develop into a hard throwing reliever. 

Team quote: "His main weapon is his angled fastball and fork that can be thrown downward from a taller pitcher. He can be a pitcher who can strike out batters in time."

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IF Seigo Nakayama (中山 誠吾)

College: Hakuoh (Tochigi)

High School: Seirantaito (Tochigi)

Date of Birth: May 9, 1999

Height: 190 cm (6' 3")

Weight: 99 kg (218 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Left

Nakayama is an athletically gifted infielder who can play 1B, SS and 3B. He was the cleanup hitter since his sophomore year at Hakuoh University and had a strong autumn 2020 season for his senior year. Nakayama can be an infielder with power potential. 

Team quote: "An infielder with a large build. His aggressive hitting was attractive."

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Ikusei

C Takeru Furuichi (古市 尊)

Independent League Team: Tokushima Indigo Socks (Tokushima)

High School: Takamatsu Minami (Kagawa)

Date of Birth: June 15, 2002

Height: 178 cm (5' 10")

Weight: 70 kg (154 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Right

Furuichi has a pop speed of 1.8 seconds and can also play outfield. He has physical tools to succeed at the next level, but specializes in base running. The Lions liked his throwing arm in particular. 

Team quote: "Outstanding shoulders and young age being attractive. We hope he can make an effort and level up as a catcher first."

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IF Natsuo Takizawa (滝澤 夏央)

High School: Sekine Gakuen (Niigata)

Date of Birth: August 13, 2003

Height: 167 cm (5' 6")

Weight: 64 kg (141 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Left

Takizawa is a two-way player, but the Lions see him as an infielder who mostly played shortstop and also second base. He specializes in speed and defensive range and also hit for average by his senior year. 

Team quote: "He has a sense of speed in everything. He can become a defensive specialist." 

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P Shinya Sugai (菅井 信也)

High School: Yamamoto Gakuen (Yamagata)

Date of Birth: June 28, 2003

Height: 182 cm (6' 0")

Weight:  75 kg (165 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Left/Left

Sugai can hit 143 km/h (89 mph) with an arsenal of a slider, curve and changeup. He drew attention from scouts during a game in the Yamagata prefectural tournament where he had 10 consecutive strikeouts ad 17 total for the game. A tall and lanky pitcher, the Lions think his breaking balls and off speed pitches can draw whiffs. 

Team quote: "Impressive left arm. We liked him because he can strike out hitters with a slider. He needs to build his body first and work hard to be a starter in the future."

===

OF Keishin Kawamura (川村 啓真)

College: Kokugakuin (Tokyo)

High School: Nihon Bunri (Niigata)

Date of Birth: September 6, 1999

Height: 173 cm (5' 8")

Weight: 83 kg (183 lbs)

Throws/Bats: Right/Left

Kawamura was the second hitter in the lineup an is a light hitting outfielder. He had a high batting average in his senior year and won multiple awards for his accomplishments. Kawamura will need to bulk up if he wants to make it to the ichi-gun. 

Team quote: "A power hitter with a well-balanced average."

==

In closing

The Lions addressed their left-handed pitching depth while also taking several flyers in the ikusei round. Hitting is a short term concern, but they have faith in their recent draft picks to develop. 

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