I'd be very wary of a 20 year old Japanese pitcher. Three man rotations are common in Japanese baseball, their workloads are way higher than their American counterparts, and their performance declines a lot sooner in their careers. Matsuzaka is a pretty good bet because he's already made it to his mid-20s without any significant arm problems (how long he continues to pitch well past age 30 will be interesting to see). Darvish looks awesome (playing in a very good Triple-A league at just 20 speaks volumes of any prospect), but I doubt his Japanese team takes it easy on him so he can have a better chance at a career in the States.
looptid wrote:I'd be very wary of a 20 year old Japanese pitcher. Three man rotations are common in Japanese baseball, their workloads are way higher than their American counterparts, and their performance declines a lot sooner in their careers. Matsuzaka is a pretty good bet because he's already made it to his mid-20s without any significant arm problems (how long he continues to pitch well past age 30 will be interesting to see). Darvish looks awesome (playing in a very good Triple-A league at just 20 speaks volumes of any prospect), but I doubt his Japanese team takes it easy on him so he can have a better chance at a career in the States.
4 man rotations are more common than 3 man and I believe Nippon uses a 4 man presently. But Matsuzaka had a ton more pitches on his arm at 20 than Darvish. Matsuzaka's arm as a 17 year old likely saw more pitches than most major leaguers. But if we were to name top pitching prospects world wide, I think I'd have Darvish right behind Bailey & Hughes.
...Another pitcher who is already on the major league radar after his second season is Yu Darvish. The son of a Japanese mother and an Iranian father, the 6-foot-4, 20-year-old right-hander has superb command of an extreme assortment of pitches and a 94 mph fastball.
Although pitchers of Darvish's quality typically get overworked in Japan, Trey Hillman, his manager with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, will prevent that...ESPN.COM
Last edited by Havok1517 on Sun Jan 28, 2007 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Another Blown Save wrote:On the second video you posted, Darvish says that he loves the Japanese league and will never play in the majors.
You speak Japanese? If I were in his shoes I think I'd say that as well. There is no way he's going to get posted anytime soon why make ripples within the organization. Uehera on the Giants and few other guys have spoken up about wanting to pursue the majors and have been chastised for it.
kimchi_chigae wrote:Cool. He plays for the Nippon Ham Fighters. I have a friend who is crazy for them.
Do you have Japanese background, Havok?
No. But I started researching the league and its players with the Matsuzaka hype building. I found there are probaby around 25 or so players capable of really succeeding in the majors, though only about have superstar potential. I wrote an article at the cafe called Rising Sons I (it is likely you already know that) and plan on publishing the second installment, Rising Sons II, here soon so that people can by chance get the rights to some really good players. The 2007 offseason could see some fantastic Japanese players coming over. So, I've become a fan of finding the diamonds in the rough.
kimchi_chigae wrote:Cool. He plays for the Nippon Ham Fighters. I have a friend who is crazy for them.
Do you have Japanese background, Havok?
No. But I started researching the league and its players with the Matsuzaka hype building. I found there are probaby around 25 or so players capable of really succeeding in the majors, though only about have superstar potential. I wrote an article at the cafe called Rising Sons I (it is likely you already know that) and plan on publishing the second installment, Rising Sons II, here soon so that people can by chance get the rights to some really good players. The 2007 offseason could see some fantastic Japanese players coming over. So, I've become a fan of finding the diamonds in the rough.
Yes, I remember that article. I was just curious because I see that you post about Japanese players from time to time. Another Blown Save is Japanese if I'm not mistaken.
He says that at the end of the second video. When asked how many years it'll be before going to the majors, he states that the majors has never been of interest to him, and that he has always admired the Japanese league the most, and that he'll probably never come over to the majors
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by Havok1517 » Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:02 pm 
