This channel focuses on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Japanese players in Major League Baseball (MLB), and international competitions such as the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
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I wonder if the interest in Ogasawara is being driven by Shota's work with the Cubs. Yoshi was obviously a big big star. Shota less so, but he is now doing better than basically any rookie pitcher ever. It always felt to me that MLB was of the opinion that only a really truly amazing NPB player could make the jump to MLB. Maybe they are now thinking that non-superstars could be useful teammates. If you're an MLB club without great pitching prospects, being able to sign a #3 starter who is 25 years old to a $40M 4-year deal is pretty appealing.
Given the topic of all-time NPB HR hitters, it's worth giving a shout-out to Takeya Nakamura, who has a realistic shot at the 500 homer club probably next season if he hangs on. If he does it, he could very well be the last. At this point, almost any player with the ability to hit 500 HR is going to inevitably head to the major leagues. It's hard to imagine another player racking up 500 NPB-only homers. Okamoto has a chance, though it remains to be seen whether he will hit MLB when he is finally int'l free agent eligible.
the high homer day sounds sus but also I can't see how NPB could be responsible for it unless they were just holding onto a day's worth of live balls for fun
Thank you for making this video, great info and projecting. Fan of baseball for the past twenty years but recently got into NPB. This video has helped me also with learning the game yakyu spirits 2019 as I only knew a select few players. Thank you! Subscribed and look forward to even more info and amazing content!
I think theyre trying to keep that oblique safe. When I watch Roki's pitching, his torso rotates extremely fast so I assume most of his speed comes from that rather than the arm.
I've also been watching almost every Roki start and, to me, it does look like Roki is intentionally taking a new approach this year. However, he isn't very consistent with it and that should come with experience. If he can hone this in, he could potentially become like a prime Verlander who starts a game in the low-mid 90's and ramps it up to 97+ in the later innings. Roki is still super young and career longevity is still a concern so, in my opinion, this is a step in the right direction. We'll have a better picture further into the season and maybe he's still feeling a little tightness in that injured oblique. I remember his first start back last year, he looked VERY off and stiff
I think they want his arm clean from TJs prior to posting or only to pick up in the postseason. I'd rather see him drop velocity to ~95 mph until he gets to the point where throwing 100+ in ~30 or so starts won't cause discomfort over a season be it through a more well placed velocity choice or strength.
My take is that it’s complicated and confusing because we aren’t really sure what’s going on and the fluctuations are unusual, not that it’s a bad. Of course if it’s fully intentional and helps him stay healthy, it’s a good thing.
All of the players in the top two tiers are average or above-average defensively. Mori is average. Ohshiro is elite. Sakakura is average. Yamamoto is elite. Nakamura is good.
I hope my Mets get Sasaki.Coupled with the arms we have coming up in the minors just knocking on the door 🚪,this addition would give us the best starting pitching staff in the game. I.e,an embarrassment of riches. LGM!!!
Matsuo is still prospect for BayStars Today Tobashira and Itoh are backup Catcher for team. @YakyuCosmopolitan What would be the position of these two catchers in Tier List?
Can we please show this video to my boy Abe he is fucking killing me - how many more games with Kobayashi hitting 7th and Oshiro riding the bench am I going to get tortured to....
The resulting tier list looks almost like a ranking based solely on offensive value, which I don't think is fair in a league where, for catchers, what teams demand is almost always defense and pitch calling first, and then batting.
@@LotteBlueJays Mori has definetely improved from the time where he was more a slugger wearing catcher's gear in between at-bats than an actual catcher, but he is still far from top level defensively. And Ohshiro's framing is definetely not good. He seems to be following the American trend of overframing and I've seen him completely missing the ball multiple times because of it. In my opinion the only Top tier should be Nakamura.
Offensive value is just easier to quantify. Mori isn’t elite defensively but I think he’s underrated, definitely not terrible back there. Even if he’s only average, he’s still a top 10 hitter in the league which is ultra valuable.
MLB needs someone like Kawa now. That’s what it’s missing, someone to help remind everyone that baseball is supposed to be fun. I love this Guy and I’m always amazed at the baseball talent the nation of Japan produces. Thank you Munenuri San!
I'm currently watching two games at the same time ( Hawks - Lions and Ham - Orix ) and it still seems like nothing is happening. Both are 0-0 in the 4th. That damn dead ball! Also, please keep the great videos coming.
I was in Tokyo Dome last week and saw Togo keeping the Giants alive for 7 inning. Sadly their offense couldn't make it and the game end with 2-1 for Yokohama. The atmostphere at a Japanese baseball game is amazing.
