2015 Draft

Here is a look back at the Hanshin Tigers’ 2015 NPB Draft picks. How have their careers gone? How has the draft panned out for the team? Which other stars came out of the same draft in the same round as our guys? Click here for the original post-draft report.

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Round 1 – #9 Shun Takayama (OF)

One of the stars of the Tokyo Big6, Takayama made a splash when he set the team rookie record for single-season hits with 136 (the record has since been shattered by Koji Chikamoto). He won Rookie of the Year, but struggled to match, let alone surpass, his numbers in the three years to come. The addition of free agent Yoshio Itoi and a breakout season from Masahiro Nakatani in 2017 meant playing time for Takayama was scarce, but it was even further lowered in 2018, when he got only 134 plate appearances. He bounced back some after Itoi’s season-ending injury in August 2019, but needs to take things up a notch or two if he wants to be a full-time player in 2020 and beyond.

Round 2 – #12 Seishiro Sakamoto (C)

Picked up just as young Ryutaro Umeno started falling out of favor with management, Sakamoto had a few chances to take over behind the plate, and while he always produced a couple of good games, he has yet to catch on. Thus far, his best season has been 2017, when he got all of 132 plate appearances, as Fumihito Haraguchi was shifted over to first base and Umeno was still in a bit of a funk. He will need to find a way to impress enough to get more playing time in the near future, but for now, he is a back-up catcher at best.

Round 3 – #42 Daichi Takeyasu (RHP)

Takeyasu was taken out of independent baseball, though he had had Tommy John surgery in late 2014 and didn’t play at all in the season he was drafted. His shortened 2016 was followed by a decent 2017 on the farm, and during a late-season call-up, he earned his first career win as a pro. With high expectations for 2018, he got just two mounds on the top squad. His farm numbers, though, were enough to garner attention from the crosstown Orix Buffaloes. When Hanshin snapped up Yuki Nishi in the 2018 offseason, the Buffaloes were pretty quick to take him as compensation. He won three games in 2019, but was not able to stay in the rotation all year.

Round 4 – #61 Atsushi Mochizuki (RHP)

No one expected Mochizuki to make an impact in his first couple of years. Drafted straight out of high school, he made his top squad debut on the final game of the 2016 season, when nothing was on the line. He showed off his heater and threw a clean inning. He was hampered by injury in 2017, but proved helpful in mop-up duties in 2018. He got his first shot at starting in 2019, winning his first career game. Hopefully the best is still to come for this young flamethrower.

Round 5 – #50 Koyo Aoyagi (RHP)

Aoyagi had a much better rookie season than anyone expected him to have, especially after starting his career (exhibition game, mind you) with 10 straight balls. He got a spot start in early June 2016, then another in July, winning both. After ending the year with an impressive four wins, expectations for the wild side-throwing rookie were high. His 2017 was more-or-less the same as his rookie year, but with more hits and fewer walks. He didn’t get much playing time in 2018, but had a breakout year in 2019, winning 9 games and holding down a spot in the rotation all year. That has now become the bar he has to surpass moving forward.

Round 6 – #63 Yutaro Itayama (OF)

While showing himself to be physically talented and very competitive, Itayama has not been able to make a permanent dent in the top squad. He played in 40 games in his rookie year, but since then has managed a combined 23 games over the next three seasons. He hit his first career home run in 2018 against Daichi Ohsera, but really has not done much more than that.

Overall Grade: B-

There’s still lots to like about this draft class, despite some guys not panning out. Takayama could (should / MUST) still take over one of the outfield spots permanently, and with Aoyagi having already emerged in 2019 and Mochizuki appearing to be well on his way, the contributions so far are more than acceptable, though they will need to do even more in 2020 and beyond. Let’s also not forget the sacrifice Takeyasu paid so we could take Yuki Nishi from the Buffaloes in the 2018 offseason!