There is a lot of talk about this team being young, is there not? It is definitely true that the oldest position player is just 31 years old. That said, many of the regulars are now in their late 20s and I for one feel like we need an injection of new blood in the mix. Someone that can excite us for years to come. As for the pitchers, let’s not kid ourselves. We have one of the best arsenals in all of NPB… but guess what? We also have some really good blue-chip prospects that will make us relevant, if not dominant, for the rest of the 2020s and beyond!

Here is my list of prospects to keep your eyes on in 2023. It is difficult to predict who will have a breakout campaign, if anyone, so my ranking is pretty inaccurate and subjective. Just a few rules. For position players, they need to be age 25 or younger and have fewer than 100 career plate appearances on the top squad. For pitchers, the same age limitation applies, with fewer than 30 career top-squad innings pitched.

Without further ado, here… we… go!

10) Hiroshi Toyoda #61, OF (25)

The Tigers have this thing they do every draft, and it has yielded amazing dividends. In the later rounds, they select a player out of industrial leagues, and many of those guys blossom into solid professionals. Examples: Kento Itohara (2016 Round 5), Atsuki Yuasa (2018 Round 6), Takumu Nakano (2020 Round 6). They selected Toyoda in Round 6 of the 2021 draft… so unless this is an even-numbered year thing, it only makes sense that he breaks out eventually! He has a decent toolkit, and 2023 just might be the year he learns how to properly use it!

9) Hidetaka Okadome #64, RHP (24)

OK, I’ll admit it. Most of this list is just guys from the past few drafts who have not been tested on the top squad. Okadome is the only player to have tested positive for Covid-19 last season. He was drafted out of Okinawa in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, and has a unique delivery that could make him a valuable bullpen piece. Chances are this season he will at least get a look in the bigs. Whether or not he sticks and becomes a vital part of the relief squad is another story.

8) Nozomu Takatera #67, IF (20)

This 7th-round pick in the 2020 draft came to the team with a chip on his shoulder. A shortstop out of a relatively unknown high school in Nagano, Takatera always looked like he wanted more than to just be a professional baseball player. Well, he made his top-squad debut in September 2022 at the age of 19, and recorded his first hit and RBI that same month. This came on the heels of batting over .500 in the Phoenix League (off-season baseball for farm players) in 2021, and then leading the farm Tigers in batting average for much of 2022. If anyone can crack the Opening Day top squad, it’s this kid.

7) Hayato Nakagawa #68, C (18)

This young man turns 19 on January 27, 2023. As a catcher in a pitcher-friendly Western League last year, as an 18-year-old, he hit .295, reached base at a .380 clip, and had an OPS of .835 in limited action. So what, you might be saying? In the past 15 years, that last number is better among first-year high school grads than: Yoshihiro Maru (.801), Shogo Sakakura (.759), Kouta Inoue (.698), Seiya Suzuki (.693), and Shuhei Takahashi (.690) among others. This alone does not guarantee future success, but it sure causes my mouth to water! If 2023 is not his year to break out, it shouldn’t take too much longer.

6) Kouta Inoue #32, OF (21)

Few and far between are the Koshien high school tournament champs that are on the Tigers’ roster. Inoue is one of them. He was part of the Riseisha High School team (Osaka) that defeated Yasunobu Okugawa and Seiryo High (Ishikawa) back in 2019 in a thrilling matchup. Inoue hit a home run in the finals and rode that performance (well, his whole season, really) to becoming the Tigers’ second-round draft pick that fall. In the three seasons since, he has gotten a few call-ups, collected his first career hit, but has mostly been slumming it on the farm with an average in the low .200s but decent power. If he does not make a splash soon, #3 and 1 on our list will likely muscle him out of the way…

5) Shoki Murakami #41, RHP (24)

Speaking of Koshien tournament winners, Murakami was staff ace for Chiben Gakuen (Nara) back in 2016 and led his team to the championship. Naturally, the spring tourney is not as glorified as the larger showdown in the summer, but a title is a title! Speaking of which, Murakami has spent two seasons almost exclusively on the farm, but has led the Western League in wins, ERA, and win percentage in at least one of the two years. He has made two starts on the top squad (both short duds in Saitama and Hiroshima), and despite not having much velocity, his control and rich arsenal could lead to him becoming the next Takumi Akiyama of our staff.

4) Takuma Kirishiki #47, LHP (23)

Kirishiki threw a perfect game at the college level immediately after being selected in the third round of the 2021 draft. He impressed coaches at spring training and in exhibition games, to the point that he was part of the starting rotation on Opening Day. The wheels fell off soon thereafter, as his first start did not go well and the team sent him to the farm while bringing up Aoyagi among others. There, all he did was rack up an ERA of 0.72 (in 75 innings) while winning league MVP. He also got called up in September and made a solid (but slightly short) start, going 5 innings of one-run ball (a solo home run). This could be the year he makes some serious noise on the top squad.

3) Ukyo Maegawa #58, OF (19)

Here is yet another exciting high schooler who starred at Koshien. He has the same alma mater as Murakami (#5 on our list) and reached the finals in his senior year. Maegawa is neither tall nor speedy, but packs a ton of punch. His swing speed is reminiscent of another Murakami (2-time MVP for the Swallows, perhaps you’ve heard of him) and his desire to dominate is strong. At his opening press conference in 2021, he said he wanted to wear #6 just like his idol, Tomoaki Kanemoto (again, perhaps that name rings a bell with you older fans). Maegawa spent much of last year hurt, but played on the top squad during the preseason, even recording a hit off Sawamura Award winner Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

2) Shota Morishita #1, OF (22)

Yes, we missed out on our original choice of first-round pick (Shogo Asano, who will wear orange for the rest of his career). But that does not mean our top pick doesn’t have an unbelievable pedigree. Manager Okada has already gone on record as saying that right field is his to lose — and he has yet to swing his bat. It is also true that most rookies come to town with high hopes for themselves, but something tells me this guy has the power and speed to accomplish his first goal: winning Rookie of the Year. Wait for it, folks!

1) Daichi Moriki #20, RHP (19)

This kid was also our Plan B in the first round — of the 2021 draft. Sure, the Baystars got Kenta Kozono, but something tells me we won that draft anyways. Moriki made his top squad debut in 2022 and while he did not win either of his starts, he showed what he’s got: power, control, and decent secondary stuff. Add to that his incredible hunger to get better, mature man-body, and the stamp of approval from all sorts of scouts and coaches, and you’ve got yourself a potential ace for our pitching staff for years to come. If anyone on this team is potentially bound for the majors before the decade is up, it’s this guy.