Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Six seasons later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2017 Draft class

 


Coming off their first A-class season in four years, the Saitama Seibu Lions entered the draft with different expectations this time around. There was a hyped up Kotaro Kiyomiya that would draw a big crowd, but the Lions took a different path. Here's how things have looked after four seasons for the 2017 draft class: 

First round: P Hiromasa Saito (Meiji University, Tokyo)

The Lions tried going for shakaijin pitcher Daiki Tajima, but lost the drawing to the Orix Buffaloes. Saito ended up being their fallback option. There was an emphasis for a left handed pitcher as Saito likely wasn't the best talent available after the first round opening. He was a huge disappoint through two years. After getting his feet wet in 2018 as a long relief swingman, his ichi-gun time diminished with a scheduled split start to take three innings and a few bullpen appearances.

He failed to make any impact at the ichi-gun level despite his success in Australia. He's currently under an ikusei contract. Grade: F

Hindsight: The Baystars took Katsuki Azuma, Swallows got Munetaka Murakami unopposed. 

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Second round: IF/OF Manaya Nishikawa (Hanasaki Tokuharu HS, Saitama)

Nishikawa was part of a Koshien championship team in 2017 and was even teammates with his senpai Aito Takeda at one point. He made progression to keep earning ichi-gun playing time from 2020-2023, but has yet to breakout or have a starting position for an entire season. Coming into his age 25 season, he'll need to breakout soon, or else he'll be seen as a rotation outfielder. Grade: C-

Hindsight: Softbank Hawks took Rei Takahashi, Chiba took Yudai Fujioka

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Third round: P Sho Ito (Tokushima Indigo Socks, Tokushima)

Ito was taken as a 19-year old having only spent one year in Indy ball. After a promising first year, which included a spot start victory, he only saw mop up duties in 2019 while not faring as well for six games. His role has been limited at the ichi-gun and couldn't build off his 2018 season. After taking low to medium leverage innings, he underwent Tommy John surgery and has been under an ikusei contract since 2022. Grade: D-

Hindsight: Orix took Shuhei Fukuda, Yomiuri took Takumi Oshiro

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Fourth round: P Kaima Taira (Yaeyama Shoko HS, Okinawa)

Taira spent the entire 2018 season in ni-gun, but earned his first call up in thee second half of 2019. He's the hardest throwing the pitcher the Lions have and while he was inconsistent, there was plenty of promise for him to take high leverage innings. He pitched in 26 ichi-gun games for 2019 and earned high leverage innings. In 2020, he was the setup man and in 2021, he became the closer due to an ineffective and injured Tatsushi Masuda. Taira set a Pacific League record for most consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to start the year and kept his closer role. 

 Taira entered the Lions rotation in 2023 and passed his test with flying colors. It's very likely the Lions will post him to MLB someday. Grade: A

Hindsight: Swallows took Yasutaka Shiomi


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Fifth Round: P Kaito Yoza (Gifu Keizai University, Gifu)

Yoza is a submarine pitcher thought to be the heir to Kazuhisa Makita, who was outgoing that offseason. His career has started out slow, recovering from an injury and surgery in 2018 where he spent 2019 under an ikusei contract. Yoza's long road to coming back finally came late in 2019 with two ni-gun appearances. The Lions liked what they saw and promoted him back to the 70-man roster after the season. Yoza has been a flexible pitcher for both spot starting and in relief. At worst, he's been an innings eater which is still decent value for the 5th round. Grade: B

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Sixth Round: IF Ryusei Tsunashima (Itoigakawa Hakurei HS, Niigata)

Tsunashima was taken as a long term project for 3B and anywhere else on the infield. He made his ichi-gun debut in 2021 and appeared in seven games, but he was considered expendable as the team cut after the season. Grade: F

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Ikusei 1: OF Wataru Takagi (Shinsokan HS, Fukuoka)

Takagi was a two-way player coming off a shoulder injury, but the Lions saw him as a position player. He earned a quick promotion to the 70-man roster after a decent ni-gun season in 2018. In 83 ni-gun games, he had a slashline of .256/.302/.453 with 12 HRs. He made his ichi-gun debut in June of 2019 with one late at-bat for his only appearance. He saw some ichi-gun time expand in 2020 for a brief stretch, but couldn't repeat or find the same success. Grade: C


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Ikusei 2: C Masato Saito (Hokkaido Kyoiku University, Hokkaido)

M. Saito has been a farm catcher for most of his time with the Lions. He earned a surprise promotion to the 70-man roster in the middle of the 2019 season when the depth became thin. M. Saito had a brief callup as an emergency third catcher, but never appeared in a game. He made his ichi-gun debut in 2021 as a replacement player. He saw a handful of games with his last being in July 2023. Masato was part of the senryokugai at the conclusion of the season and has retired as a player to become a bullpen catcher. Grade: Incomplete

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Overall:

This class hasn't aged well except through Taira and Yoza. Drafting Saito is a cautionary tale to not draft for need. As a team, it is best to take the best talent available no matter what. Don't put yourself in a position of need.  It could be worse, but it hinges on Nishikawa. Grade: C+


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Saturday, January 13, 2024

Seven seasons later: Grading the Seibu Lions 2016 Draft class

 


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The Saitama Seibu Lions had several pitching options to take in this draft, but there was a huge difference of opinion in the first round.  

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First round: P Tatsuya Imai (Sakushin Gakuin, Tochigi)

The Lions did not go for the hyped up Seigi Tanaka and all six B-class teams took a different player as a way of punishing those who went for him. There was no opposition for Imai's rights.

Imai's first season of professional baseball was cut short due to injury, where he suffered a shoulder problem in spring training camp. A suspension delayed his ichi-gun debut in 2018, but he made progress and continued to stay at the top level before being overwhelmed in the postseason. He put in a larger workload for 2019 while still developing, but remained inconsistent as a whole.

Despite an injury riddled 2022 season, Imai has gotten better with age and had his first 10 win season in 2023. His expectations of being an elite ace are out the window and he humbly changed his jersey number to #48, but Imai is a front end rotation starter and remains more successful than the others taken in this round. 

Grade: A-


Hindsight: Taisuke Yamaoka was taken by Orix. Haruhiro Hamaguchi taken by the Baystars. Dragons took Yuya Yanagi in a coin flip draw. Hanshin took Yusuke Ohyama. 

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Second round: P Shunta Nakatsuka (Hakuoh University, Tochigi) 

Nakatsuka failed to earn a roster spot during his five years in NPB. At one point, he almost finished a game being one out away, but three consecutive walks without a strike forced a hook. He saw two ichi-gun games in 2018 with no success and the same control problems continued to linger. 

He also received a workload in Australia with the Melbourne Aces and again struggled with control out of the bullpen. In Australia, he was known as "The Big Man" due to his size. His last ichi-gun action had six games in 2020, before the Lions cut him after the 2021 season.  Grade: F

Hindsight: Yuta Kuroki was drafted by Orix. Yota Kyoda was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons. Tomohito Sakai was taken by the Marines and since switched to the Eagles as part of free agency compensation for Minabu Mima. Kazunari Ishii has been a regular fielder for the Fighters. Seishu Hatake has contributed for the Giants. 

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Third round: IF Sosuke Genda (Toyota Motors, Aichi)

The Lions took a shakaijin in the third round and he played every single inning at the ichi-gun level for 2017. Genda became the fourth player in NPB history to accomplish this feat and he won the 2017 Pacfic League rookie of the award. He avoided any sophomore slump in 2018 and became a Best IX SS from 2018-2021. Genda has also won the Golden Glove six consecutive times from 2018-2023. 

He reached free agency in the 2023 season, but signed long term through his prime years in the winter before. A Best IX Shortstop to fill an immediate hole for years? An easy call. Grade: A+

Hindsight: None 

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Fourth round: OF Shohei Suzuki (Shizuoka HS, Shizuoka) 

The Lions took a HS outfielder as a future prospect. Suzuki made good progress in ni-gun and the Lions like what they're seeing him, hoping he can develop into a potential leadoff hitter. He earned his first ichi-gun action in 2019 as a reserve outfielder and even saw a handful of starts in right field.

His role expanded from 2020-2023, but couldn't keep his starting spot in an outfield that became a revolving door.  Injuries and ineffectiveness have kept him as a rotational player. Entering his age 26 season, time is starting to run out on having upside with a poor walk rate. Grade: D+


Hindsight: Orix took Yoshinobu Yamamoto.  Dragons took Shotaro Kasahara. 


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Fifth round: P Katsunori Hirai (Honda Suzuka, Mie)

Hirai was one of the oldest players taken in the class as he was a shakaijin playing in Mie prefecture. He cracked the ichi-gun level in May of 2017 and never had to look back, earning innings in medium leverage. For 2018. he was part of a up and down bullpen where he was prone to giving up home runs.

In 2019, he earned the setup man role and thrived under Kazuyoshi Ono. However, his arm was shot by the end of the year by overplaying him in every role from leading by 1 run to tie games or even trailing by a few runs. By appearing in 81 games, it was a new Pacific League record. 

After some regression from 2020-2021, he had a resurgence as a reliable setup man from 2022-2023. Hirai reached domestic free agency in 2023, but opted to stay with the Lions, locking up his prime. Grade A-

Hindsight: None

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Sixth round: P Ichiro Tamura (Rikkyo University, Tokyo)

Tamura has mostly taken mop up innings while staying alive at the ichi-gun level. He even earned a win and save in 2021.  Despite a slow 2022, Tamura was called up to eat low leverage innings in 2023. While his career has been walking the tightrope, he's still on the roster for 2024, that's a win to find someone remaining. Grade: B-

Hindsight: Rakuten took Yuhei Takanashi in the 9th round. Marines took Atsuki Taneichi. Baystars took Keita Sano in the 9th round. 

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Overall: 

Imai appears to be the second best high school pitcher in this class after Yamamoto, while a starting SS in Genda to help immediately and a reliever in Hirai are all positive picks. All three players had a role in the pennant success from 2018-2019.  It's one of the best classes within the last 10 years by the Lions. Grade: A


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Thursday, January 11, 2024

Lions select P Kaino as compensation for loss of Yamakawa

 


The Saitama Seibu Lions had one more step in closing the book on Hotaka Yamakawa.  After the Softbank Hawks signed him to a multi-year deal, the Lions had to choose a compensation selection between cash and a player or more cash.

With the Hawks protected list in, the Lions selected RHP Hiroshi Kaino as their compensatory selection on Thursday. 

Kaino, 27, was a mainstay in the Hawks bullpen working as a middle reliever. Originally he was a first round draft pick by the Hawks in 2018 in the same class at Wataru Matsumoto.

When drafted, he was viewed as a raw hard thrower in a class full of pitchers. With the Lions moving Taira to the rotation, they lacked a reliever who had high velocity in 2023 and he can throw as hard as 160 km/H (99 mph). 

In 2023, Kaino had a 2.53 ERA, 2 saves, 8 holds, and strikeouts in 42.2 innings of work. 

He should be part of a mix in the bullpen and could compete with Tatsushi Masuda, Yoshinobu Mizukami, Taishi Mameda and others for the closer role. 

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Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Eight seasons 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 before the team released him for good after 2021. His career was a flash in the pan.   Grade: C-


Hindsight: The Orix Buffaloes took Masataka Yoshida and the Baystars selected Shota Imanaga unopposed. 

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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 after three seasons and had a part time role. While he was useful for a handful of matchups, the Lions wasted his development by trying to use him as a pitcher and he has only tried salvaging his remaining time.

Kawagoe was traded in July 2023 to the Chunichi Dragons for Wataru Takamatsu, ending his time with the Lions. Grade: F


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

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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 of 2016, 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. Dragons took Takuya Kinoshita. Orix took Koji Oshiro

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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 was an opening day starter in 2022 and 2023, but couldn't keep his job at the ichi-gun level. The Lions designated him as one of two players available for the Active Player Draft at the conclusion of the 2023 season and he was selected by the Chiba Lotte Marines, a team he had great production against. 

Grade: D

Hindsight: The Baystars took C Yasutaka Tobashira and the Dragons took Hiroto Fuku with this pick. Marines took Taiki Tojo. Tigers took Atsushi Mochizuki. 

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

A shakaijin from Shikoku was taken in this round by the Lions, but Minamikawa did little 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. 

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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.

Honda has a spot starter role from 2020-2021 while he's thrived more as a reliever since 2022. The Lions have put him in medium to low leverage to eat innings, but he's been solid as a bridge to the setup reliever before the 8th inning. 

  Grade: B

Hindsight: None.
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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 became a weakness. 

Knowing he would remain as a part time player only, Wu left the Lions on his own will to spend his remaining playing career in his native country Taiwan. Wu was nothing but a glorified bench player. 

  Grade: C

Hindsight: Kohei Suzuki was taken by Orix.

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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. Kokuba 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. 

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Overall: F

The Lions absolutely failed in this draft with only Honda remaining on the roster for 2024. Others were traded, let go or straight up injured.

On paper, Tawata looked like a possible ace, but his body broke down and it was short lived. There were options available in the first round as shown from Imanaga and Masataka Yoshida, but it wasn't meant to be. The flopping of picks after Tawata hurt this team for 2020-2023 with almost no help. 

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Monday, January 8, 2024

Nine seasons later: Grading the 2014 Seibu Lions draft class

 


It's officially that time of the year to look back at the last NPB Drafts by the Saitama Seibu Lions and see how they aged. 

Coming into the 2014 NPB Draft, the Lions came off a forgettable season where manager Haruki Ihara resigned ib 

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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. 

He put in three consecutive 10-win seasons from 2021 and established himself as the team's ace in 2022. With some strong performances, he will likely reach his desire to be posted to MLB after the 2024 season. 

Producing someone to make it to the Majors is always a strong grade. 

Grade: A-

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. Sachiya Yamasaki was taken by Orix unopposed. 

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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. 

Sano's role continues to diminish as a mop up pitcher and he was let go at the conclusion of the 2022 season.

Grade: D

Hindsight: The Hanshin Tigers drafted Tsuyoshi Ishizaki in this round. 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. Rakuten took Fumiya Ono

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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's been a reliable 2B on defense despite his offense and power hitting regressing recently. Finding a starting player is always a plus.

 Grade: B+

Hindsight: None. The Lions were drafting near the end of this round and couldn't take many options. 

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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. 

Yamada was a defensive replacement at best more known for his dugout celebrations and funny antics shown on air. He was traded after the 2022 season to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters for Ryusei Sato after controversy from his wife causing problems with other players' families.  The Fighters let him go after the 2023 season and he is currently on an ikusei contract with the Rakuten Eagles.

If we're going by the trade itself, it's looking like a win for the Lions with what Ryusei Sato has done, but this pick is all but nothing for production. 

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 an chi-gun game was 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. Togawa saw only a handful of ichi-gun games per season since that 2019 debut and was senryokugai after the 2022 season.

Any ikusei working their way up is always a positive, though his time was short.

Grade: C-

Hindsight: None 

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Overall: 

The Lions found an everyday starter in Tonosaki while also having a starting pitcher in Kona Takahashi. Two players is better than none and despite Takahashi soon to leave, having a front end rotation pitcher makes this a positive class as really good, not great. 

Grade: B+

Hindsight: Takahashi has proven to the best first round pitcher in this class.  Getting him with no opposition with other teams distracted by Kohei Arihara? It's a win. 

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Saturday, January 6, 2024

Oakland A's / Seibu Lions Series: David MacKinnon

 


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The Saitama Seibu Lions signed another foreigner with Oakland A's ties as he became available after the 2022 season. As with many, Japan becomes a different opportunity. 

David MacKinnon

Tenures: 2022 with the Oakland Athletics, 2023 with the Seibu Lions

Statistics with Oakland: 6 games, 14 PAs, .000/.071/.000, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs

Statistics with the Seibu Lions: 127 games, 514 PAs, .259/.327/.401, 15 HRs, 50 RBIs

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Born and raised in the Greater Boston Area, MacKinnon was a multi-sport athlete in baseball and soccer. His skills carried over to the collegiate level where he was at the University of Hartford. 

Despite having "no power" as he often remarked, MacKinnon's baseball skills were noticed in his senior season and the Los Angeles Angels drafted him in the 32nd round of the 2017 MLB Draft. 

He worked his way up the ladder of the minor leagues and made his debut in the Major Leagues as a call up in Anaheim in June of 2022. It was here where he got to be teammates with MVP winners Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. 

MacKinnon appeared in 16 MLB games with the Angels as a part time infielder, where he has a promising first month but cooled off in July. In perspective, it was an improbable journey to go from a small University with dissolving sports programs to the Majors. 

The Angels designated him for assignment in August and the Oakland A's claimed MacKinnon off waivers. After spending some games in Las Vegas at the AAA level, the A's called him up later in the month to fill a roster space due to an injury to OF Ramon Laureano. 

With Oakland, MacKinnon only appeared in six games with no hits recorded and one walk having 14 plate appearances. He scored two runs, with one after a walk and a second time as a ghost runner in extra innings. He was optioned down to AAA at the conclusion of August and non-tendered by the A's after the 2022 season ended. 

The Lions signed MacKinnon to be an everyday infielder and he appeared as a starter for majority of the season, with games at 3B and 1B. His fielding and soccer skills in particular showed, giving the team's infield a boost for any ground ball pitchers.

The 2023 season was a forgettable 5th place year for the Lions where their offense lacked power and hitting for average, yet MacKinnon was one constant through all of this and he was second on the team in HRs with 15 despite having "no power". 

He was thrust into the cleanup role in several games even though he's not built as a power hitter. MacKinnon was not a flashy hitter, nor slugger, but was consistent at hitting his own weight while also providing occasional pop and even brought a different observation to the strike zone and approaches to how Japan does baseball. Because of his defense, his WAR was north of 2.0. 

The Lions ended up letting MacKinnon go when at negotiations by offering something so low as a sign to say they had no desire to keep him. The Lions pretended to be "in negotiations", but with no contract signed for a lengthy time after the December 1 deadline, his departure was already inevitable without formal announcement. 

The Lions later signed Jesus Aguilar with the hopes of finding an infielder who can hit for home runs and have potential to be a slugger.  

For the 2024 season, he signed with the Samsung Lions of KBO, a League where former teammate Dietrich Enns also joined. 

MacKinnon kept himself professional and did a great job of fan service even when it became public he would take the trains home. 

I was able to find both he and Bo Takahashi on a ride before we parted ways for a meet up after a game.

While with Samsung, he made the All Star game and was able to hit for average, but being an import player on a maximum salary contract in KBO, they expected more power hitting. 

The Samsung Lions released MacKinnon in July to make room for OF Ruben Cardenas.  Samsung burned their second foreign replacement transaction waiving Cardenas and found Lewin Diaz to take his spot and finish the 2024 season.

Samsung was in a race for first place in KBO, but came up short to the KIA Tigers for a second place finish.  Both teams would meet in the Korean Series and Samsung was defeated in five games. 

With no offers after his release, MacKinnon was forced to retire from playing and became a coach. 

MacKinnon is the hitting coach for The Pack's youth baseball team in Texas.  

He has shared his story of being an underdog as a book and has a podcast called Pacific Swings.  

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Others in the series: 

Mateo "Matty" Alou

John Wasdin

Jose Ortiz

Ty Van Burkleo

Taylor Duncan


Roger Repoz

Jim Tyrone

Esteban German 

Bert Campaneris  

Hiram Bocachica







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Friday, January 5, 2024

Ohtani took team player role with Dodgers for Yamamoto, teammates

 

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Shohei Ohtani casually announced on his Instagram he would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

In his introductory press conference, Ohtani politely thanked the Angels before signing with LA, but gave clear reasoning why he joined the team across the freeway: He wants to win.

"I mean obviously I want to win championships, and I want when people look back at the championships I won," Ohtani said through his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. "I want people to know or think that I was a core member, and I was a big deal, or I was a big part of that championship winning team."

His contract became a 10 year, $700 million contract with deferred payments beginning in 2034 for a combined $680 million after his playing tenure would end.

It was clear Ohtani proposed this idea to all teams who wanted to pursue him in order to help them sign other players and stay easy against the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT).

In turn, the Dodgers were able to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 year, $325 million with opt outs) and Tyler Glasnow (5 year, $135.5 million extension through 2029). 

Ohtani comes from a team who wasted six years of his career, no winning record despite winning multiple MVP awards and being teammates with a three-time MVP in Mike Trout. 

Health was an issue, but the Angels could never win with the poorly constricted pitching staff. 

While he won't pitch a game in 2024, coming off an alternative surgery to traditional Tommy John, he should have an impact immediately for the Dodgers offense. In fact, he's in a shadow with players who are already great in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Later in December, Yamamoto had his introductory press conference and while he carefully dodged questions about Ohtani as his teammate, he also wanted to win as his primary desire. 

“It was very important to me to go to a team that wants to win,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter Mako Allbee. “And not only now, but in the future as well. I really felt that through this whole process, the Dodgers provided that opportunity to the most.” 

Despite the significant signings by the Dodgers, their rotation is still flawed on paper given who is coming off injury. 

The recently acquired Glasnow had an oblique injury in 2023 and missed nearly two months of action. 

Walker Buehler is coming off Tommy John surgery as is Dustin May, who will likely miss all of 2024. Last postseason, the Dodgers had nearly no starting pitchers remaining with Clayton Kershaw laying an egg against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Nothing is a surefire thing, but Yamamoto and Ohtani should give them a boost for this season ahead.

From a marketing standpoint, Ohtani's presence pays for itself and the Angels learned this by not wanting to trade him. An automatic cash cow, plenty of visitors from Japan will visit Chavez Ravine like they did for Hideo Nomo nearly three decades ago.

The Dodgers spent several offseasons being mostly inactive or letting other players walk when they can afford it. Most notably, Trea Turner signed with the Philadelphia Phillies one year ago, Justin Turner joined the Boston Red Sox, Cody Bellinger signed with the Chicago Cubs (he's currently a free agent at the time of this writing), and even two years ago, Cory Seager signed a massive contract with the Texas Rangers.

It was this offseason they put all their resources into wanting Ohtani after missing out on him in 2017. 

For Ohtani, he gives back right away with the recent earthquake in Ishikawa prefecture and the Dodgers matched his donation. Los Angeles is known for stars in Hollywood, yet it will be Ohtani carrying the baseball world and bringing others with him. 

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