As a new decade dawns and the players prepare to head off to camp, it’s time to look at some of the guys you may not yet know. Every player wants to be known by his team’s fans, and these ten young men could be household names by season’s end if all goes well for them.
The criteria for our top 10 is a fielder who has fewer than 150 total top squad at-bats in the past 3 seasons (or fewer than 30 in 2019), or a pitcher who has thrown fewer than 60 total innings during that stretch (or fewer than 16 in 2019). Oh, and to earn the “prospect” tag, he also has to be age 25 or under. (Ages listed in the article are as of March 20, 2020 – Opening Day.)
First, a few of last year’s “top prospects” who neither came to fruition nor cracked the top squad, but who still have the potential to help the team down the road:
Yen-Ching Lu (24, LHP)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 22 GP, 56.1 IP, 1 W, 7 L, 53 K, 4.76 ERA
Why we kinda like him: He’s still young, but he’s got 2 years of experience under his belt with the second squad. His fastball has gotten better and he already had a decent arsenal of breaking pitches. The toughest thing for Lu will be to get a shot over the other imports – remember, the team is only allowed 4 on the top squad at any given time. Let’s hope that he at least gets a spot start in 2020, though of course there are tons of factors that need to line up just right in order for that to happen.
Kosuke Fujitani (24, 3B)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 65 GP, 156 AB, 29 H, .186 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI
Why we kinda like him: He has now been a position player for just 1.5 years. Don’t you love stories of pitchers who make the switch to the field and excel there? The names are not many, but you have to applaud them for their athleticism. Fujitani boasts power and speed, and perhaps after another year (or less?) of seasoning, perhaps he can make it back down to double digits and make some noise at third! The video below, by the way, is from a game just a few weeks after he stopped pitching and started hitting.
10. Kosuke Baba (24, RHP, 2017 R1)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 19 GP, 102.1 IP, 5 W, 7 L, 88 K, 3.17 ERA
2019 Numbers (Central League): 2 GP, 3.1 IP, 0 W, 0 L, 4 K, 10.80 ERA
Why we like him: We always want our first-round draft picks to pan out. Baba was Plan C in the 2017 draft (but so was Koji Chikamoto in 2018), but has yet to pay any sort of dividends. Still, he has good overall raw talent: a solid fastball (tops out around 155 km/h) with breaking pitches representing his best stuff. The team drafted him as a starter, but most of his action on the top squad has been out of the bullpen. No matter where he ends up pitching, we hope that the wait will have been worth it.
And if pitching doesn’t work out for him, well guess what else he can do? That’s right. Mash.
9. Kota Inoue (18, OF, 2019 R2)
Why we like him: He was one of the key figures in last year’s Summer Koshien tournament, hitting a key home run early in the final match. He also has high hopes for himself, hoping to become a home run king (something Hanshin has not had since Randy Bass in 1986), and even tie or break the single-season record for bombs. Not that either of those will necessarily happen, mind you. But the fact that he has played and excelled on the big stage will go a long ways towards endearing him to fans.
8. Jo Endoh (18, SS, 2019 R4)
Why we like him: You already read about how we love pitchers-turned-fielders. Endoh is another one. But it’s not that simple. He also went from P to SS, which indicates he has great athletic ability. He also holds high aspirations like Inoue. When asked what player he wants to model himself after, he did not hesitate to go big: Tomoaki Kanemoto. He also says he wants to become a player that people immediately think of when they hear “Hanshin Tigers.” We like his swing and his combination of power and speed. His mouth has done some talking. Now it’s time to walk the walk.
7. Taiki Ono (25, RHP, 2016 R2)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 5 GP, 16 IP, 1 W, 1 L, 12 K, 4.50 ERA
2019 Numbers (Central League): 14 GP, 11.2 IP, 0 W, 1 L, 6 K, 2.31 ERA
Why we like him: Actually truth be told, we are not particularly fond of Ono. Others seem high on him, though. He has big-time control issues, and seems to have the heart of The Cowardly Lion. Without the Wizard of Oz, he may never reach his full potential. However, he does have a strong fastball and was highly touted when drafted. If he ends up being a mid-rotation starter in the future, I’ll be satisfied.
6. Ryuhei Obata (19, SS, 2018 R2)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 99 GP, 316 AB, 71 H, .225 AVG, 1 HR, 9 SB
Why we like him: After what our shortstops did in the infield in 2019, fans are starving for a strong defensive shortstop. While he had quite a few errors on the farm last year, he was also just 18 years old and will continue to adjust. His hitting is not impressive yet, but he has decent power/speed balance. He was the third shortstop taken in the draft after blue chips Akira Neo (Dragons) and Kaito Kozono (Carp), but hopes to outdo both of them. We hope he does it, too.
5. Yukiya Saitoh (25, RHP, 2018 R4)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 33 GP, 33 IP, 1 W, 2 L, 8 SV, 29 K, 3.82 ERA
2019 Numbers (Central League): 1 GP, 2 IP, 0 W, 0 L, 0 SV, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
Why we like him: He’s a true power arm that knows his role: come in for an inning and make that catcher’s mitt pop. He’s physically mature and now he just needs more experience against tougher competition. Now that Dolis and Johnson are gone, there are more spots to fill in the bullpen, and Saitoh could be the one to take on a role.
4. Masumi Hamachi (21, RHP, 2016 R4)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 12 GP, 29.1 IP, 0 W, 1 L, 1 SV, 24 K, 2.45 ERA
2019 Numbers (Central League): 21 GP, 28 IP, 2 W, 1 L, 27 K, 6.11 ERA
Why we like him: DeltaGraphs had him ranked as the #25 prospect in NPB at the end of 2019 (the only Hanshin player in the top 30, I might add), so I am not the only one who sees talent here. He has one of the best fastballs (good movement) among the young pitchers. After earning Yano’s trust on the farm at the end of 2018 (he started in the Japan Series), he got more of a shot on the top squad in 2019. His next stop is to crack the top squad and stay there all year in 2020!
3. Yuya Katayama (25, C, 2018 DV1)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 75 GP, 198 AB, 40 H, .202 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI
Why we like him: Battery Coach Akihito Fujii had his eye on this lad back in 2018 when the farm team played against the Fukui Miracle Elephants. The Tigers picked him up in the developmental player round that offseason, and within a couple of months, he impressed the coaches enough to earn a registered player contract, allowing him to play in top squad games as well. He never got a call-up but showed pop, speed and defense on the farm. This past winter he played down in Taiwan, hitting .390 in 14 games, with 2 homers and 7 RBI. I love this kid’s swing, hustle, and leadership skills. Can’t wait to see him up top in 2020!
2. Junya Nishi (18, RHP, 2019 R1)
Why we like him: This kid lit up Koshien with a dynamic performance as a second-year high schooler back in 2018. Sixteen strikeouts in the first round, and plenty of celebrating (see video below). He has fire, but he also has really good stuff. After Okugawa and Sasaki, he was a highly-touted high school pitcher in last fall’s draft. With a good fastball as well as great movement on his secondary stuff, he has the tools to be staff ace someday. But he might have to wrestle that title away from our #1…
1. Hiroto Saiki (21, RHP, 2016 R3)
2019 Numbers (Western League): 6 GP, 23.1 IP, 3 W, 1 L, 21 K, 2.31 ERA
2019 Numbers (Central League): 3 GP, 15.1 IP, 2 W, 1 L, 14 K, 4.70 ERA
Why we like him: In spite of his elbow discomfort and not throwing off a mound after September, we still think this lanky righty is a future ace. He has a great fastball and the fingers to put all sorts of spin on his breaking pitches. He made a brief debut at age 18, then won 6 games in his age-19 season. Now at just 21 years old, his future should be extremely bright, and his attitude towards the game leaves us very little doubt that he will shine through the rest of this decade. Plus he’s a local boy, born and raised in Kobe. Gotta love the hometown kids!
For the record, Shintaro Fujinami “qualifies” to make this list (still 25 years old, pitched just 4 ⅔ innings last season), but I have ordered the media to not talk about him – give him some breathing room! As “media” I must comply and not even whisper his name. Shhhh! You didn’t read his name here!