Japan Prospect Lab

I write about Japanese baseball in English. NPB, the draft, and the amateur leagues underneath. Every number sourced. Free data on GitHub.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@TheSkippersView One more point for the rotation: he threw his first NPB complete game this year, and it was a shutout.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@eyyankees Part of the appeal is the climb: his top speed went from 93.8 mph as a freshman to 94.4 as a sophomore, 95.7 this spring and 97.6 this summer.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@Gsweens09 At five years and $100 million, Hanshin's release fee would add about $16.9 million, so the total cost would be closer to $117 million.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@ChiefCub Before Chicago: .300 or better with at least 25 homers in each of his last six seasons with Hiroshima, 2016-21.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@FiresideYankees The Koshien breakout came with a record: the 156 km/h (96.9 mph) he threw there in August is the fastest pitch ever recorded at Koshien.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@nypost Away from third, the outfield is the only other spot he's played regularly in NPB: 262 games there, 45 of them in the last two seasons.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@AdrianWhiteSox One White Sox link: he and Munetaka Murakami won Olympic gold together for Japan in 2021, and Murakami homered in the 2-0 final against the US.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@CubsZone He's been tough to take deep, too: 21 home runs allowed in 592 NPB innings, and just 4 in 146 this year.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@ChiSoxFanMike A data point from his two full seasons as a starter, 2023 and 2026: 23-12 with a 1.89 ERA and 294 strikeouts in 296 innings.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

Texas lefty Dylan Volantis touched 94 mph this spring. So did Japan's Taka Yurisawa. This fall he hit 96.

Volantis walked or hit 3.69 per nine as a starter. Yurisawa: 5.08 mostly starting, 2.49 mostly in relief.

Side by side:
https://t.co/43r9NgOkGE
#NPBDraft #MLBDraft #HookEm

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@BleacherNation His NPB career ERA is 1.78 over 592 innings, as a closer, setup man and starter.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@NYYWorldwide One Yankees tie: Yomiuri, which drafted him on Oct. 22 and holds his rights through March, named Hideki Matsui its manager the next day.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@mlbtraderumors He's been steady: an OPS of .804 or better and at least 20 homers in each of the last four seasons.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@MLBNetwork If that NPB star is Teruaki Sato, the glove has swung: 6 errors and a Central League Gold Glove at third in 2025, 18 errors there this year.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

The Central League hit .236 this year, its lowest since 1971.

That's the backdrop for Teruaki Sato's .306 and 39 home runs. Even 2011, the low-offense year NPB switched to a new ball, came in at .242.

#NPB #HanshinTigers

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

400 strikeouts, three Japanese pitchers, one team.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 182 for the Dodgers this year, Roki Sasaki 123 and Shohei Ohtani 95. Together they threw 393 innings.

#Dodgers #MLB

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@TigerTerritory_ Itoh would bring durability: at least 146 innings in each of his six NPB seasons, 172 2/3 this year.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@LADodgersMuse Add the bat: 30 homers, making it his fourth season with 30 homers and 80 innings pitched.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@MLBONFOX What each would bring, by 2026 numbers: a .368 OBP from Suzuki, 174 1/3 innings from Imanaga and 39 homers from Sato.

[Japan Prospect Lab @JapanProspects]

@snyyankees One item on his desk: Yomiuri drafted Shoki Oda in the first round on Oct. 22, the day before naming Matsui, and holds Oda's rights through March. Oda has said he's headed to the U.S.