They’ve shown what they are capable of in the past, but they’ve struggled to put it together consistently for multiple seasons. Here is my list of ten players who need to show they belong in 2019 and beyond, or their playing days are numbered. Rankings are unscientifically based on the length of the player’s struggles and how much potential impact he can have (both positively and negatively) on the club.
Immunity has been given to Yuta Iwasada for being a preciously rare young-ish lefty starter. His job is not currently in jeopardy. At least, not yet. But since his stellar 2016 season, he has been quite mediocre. His 2017 was rather forgettable (5-10, 4.96 ERA), and after a solid start to 2018, he appeared to regress back to being pedestrian (4-7, 4.70 ERA, 14 HR against) from July onward. Speaking of lefties with something to prove, though…
10. Minoru Iwata, 35, LHP
Once a mainstay in the starting rotation (22+ starts in 5 of 7 seasons through 2015), Iwata has gotten just 20 total starts in the past three seasons. As is the case with professional sports teams, youth continues to bolster rosters, and teams must weigh the pros and cons of giving them starting time over veterans in decline. I’m not saying Iwata doesn’t have it anymore, but unless he proves himself during spring training, I get the feeling he could be on the outside looking in most of the season. The ray of hope comes from the fact that he apparently trained with Dennis Sarfate (SoftBank Hawks) this past month…
9. Hayata Itoh, 29, OF
He was a much-heralded first-round pick back in 2011. Now entering his eighth season with the team, there’s no more pedigree value if he doesn’t start performing better. He made his way into the starting lineup a few times last year, and has established himself as a useful pinch hitter, but he is surely aware of the fact that he’s better than that, and this can not be as good as things get for him. If not this year, when will he break out?
8. Hiroki Uemoto, 32, 2B
He’s got speed (averaging 18 SB in his three full seasons), pop in his bat (9 HRs in 2017), tenacity at the plate (has had multiple 10+ pitch at bats), and decent selectivity (1.42 K/BB ratio since 2014). What is he lacking? Health. Keeping in mind that he has not been slated to start year in and year out, he still only has 2 seasons of over 110 games played. Last season ended for Uepon in May due to an ACL injury. He is healthy enough that he’s going to be at camp in Okinawa with the top squad, but it seems like it’s not so much a case of if, but when he will injure himself and end up unable to contribute. Let’s not forget that the new team captain, Kento Itohara, played in all 143 games last year, including most games at 2B after Uemoto got DL’ed.
7. Koyo Aoyagi, 25, RHP
Here’s an interesting fact about the Blue Goat. His BB/9 has decreased every year (2016: 5.27, 2017: 3.92, 2018: 2.49) and his K/9 has increased (2016: 6.85, 2017: 6.99, 2018: 9.14). Those are good signs, are they not? Not. His innings have decreased every year as well, and other teams are hitting against him more successfully, too (2016: .175, 2017: .225, 2018: .271). The newlywed manga-lover will need to figure out a way to keep hitters at bay if he wants to successfully support his bride as a professional baseball player.
6. Taiga Egoshi, 25, OF
Anyone who remembers that magical week near the start of the 2016 season when Taiga the Tiger hit homers in 4 straight games and made some sparkling plays on defense knows. This is no ordinary human. He has the tools to be a superstar. Power. Speed. Defense. Instincts. He led the farm Tigers in home runs (15) last season batting leadoff, and threw in 25 stolen bases to boot. Unfortunately, he also flails at all sorts of bad pitches. Striking out 136 times in 88 games at the second level is a bad thing. The tools he possesses stay in the toolbox until he fixes his fundamentals. And no one is impressed with unused tools.
5. Takumi Akiyama, 27, RHP
Drafted out of high school, Akkyaman had a solid second half to his rookie year, but then struggled the next six seasons. At long last he put it all together in 2017, leading the team in wins and making his first ever all-star team. Known for his pinpoint control, Akiyama tried to keep hitters honest by dancing in and around the strike zone in 2018. The results were not good, and his season ended prematurely and he had offseason knee surgery. The team needs more of what they got from him in 2017, but with just 1.5 good seasons out of nine, now’s the time for him to prove that he can stay in the rotation for years to come.
4. Masahiro Nakatani, 26, OF
Nakatani was selected out of high school as a catcher, but needed several years to make an impact on the top squad. In fact, he spent most of his first five years on the farm, finally collecting his first career extra base hit in 2016. Then in 2017, he became the first right-handed under-25 hitter drafted by the Tigers to have a 20-home run season since Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Expectations were sky high in 2018, but he did not live up to them at all, failing to even crack the top squad until two months into the year. Will he mash or crash in 2019? The outfield is getting more crowded by the year. “Now or never” might be overstating it, but time’s running out.
3. Takashi Toritani, 37, SS
You know what this man is capable of. Seven-time all-star. Six-time Best Nine. Most hits in team history. Second longest ironman streak in league history. Hard-working. Most popular player since Kanemoto. Much like Nakatani and Akiyama (mentioned above), he had an outstanding 2017, leading the team with a .293 average and finishing fourth in the league in on-base percentage. Unfortunately, his 2018 was as bad as, if not worse than, his awful 2016. No matter how legendary you are, one good season in the last three, plus a desperate attempt at returning to short at age 37 (with several younger, more fleet-footed men ahead of him on the depth chart), you have to wonder if this year will be his last, or if he still has something left in the tank.
2. Shun Takayama, 25, OF
Quick – who was the last Hanshin player to win Rookie of the Year before Takayama did so in 2016? Stumped? Ever heard of pitcher Keiji Uezono (2007)? No? Not to worry – he did next-to-nothing after that rookie year. Takayama is in danger of following that same path, unless he can right his ship. He has looked completely lost at the plate these past two years, and despite still having the pedigree – Big6 career hits record in college, Hanshin record for hits by a rookie – he needs to find that swing once again, or he will be a forgotten name until the next time a Tiger wins Rookie of the Year.
1. Shintaro Fujinami, 24, RHP
If you are unfamiliar with this kid and what he’s capable of, suffice it to say that when he was drafted out of high school, many scouts proclaimed that his stuff was better than Shohei Ohtani’s. He dazzled in his rookie year (2013) and continued to perform well for two years after that. But then in 2016, he started struggling with control a little more, and in July faced his manager’s wrath, being forced to throw 161 pitches in an attempt to open his eyes to the responsibilities that come with being the team ace. He hasn’t been the same since. He practically paved the Naruohama-Koshien road during Kanemoto’s reign, and now we are left to wonder: will we ever get the real Shintaro back? If he returns to form, the pitching staff is rock-solid. If not… well, let’s just not think about that possibility.