The Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball are going to make right-hander Shintaro Fujinami available to MLB clubs this offseason via the posting system, according to a report from Kyodo News. Back in September, reports from Japan (Japanese link from Sponichi Annex and English link from The Japan Times) relayed his desire to attempt the move to North America. It now seems that the club will grant him his wish.
Fujinami, who will turn 29 in April, figures to be an interesting addition to this winter’s free agent market, though a very difficult one to predict. Going back to his high school days, Fujinami was a highly-touted young arm that was often compared to Shohei Ohtani when they were in the same draft class. Fujinami was first mentioned on MLBTR back in 2012, showcasing the hype that has followed him around for some time.
He lived up to that hype in his first few seasons but subsequently spent a long time battling control issues. (This eight-minute video from Yakyu Cosmopolitan is recommended for those who want a rundown of Fujinami’s whole career, though it was made before the 2022 season.) In 2013, Fujinami was thrown directly into the Tigers’ rotation in his age-19 campaign. He responded to that bold assignment by throwing 137 2/3 innings with a 2.75 ERA, 126 strikeouts, 44 walks and a couple of hit batters. He followed that up with two more excellent seasons, throwing 163 innings in 2014 with a 3.53 ERA and then 199 frames in 2015 with a 2.40 ERA.
In 2016, he was still fairly effective, but took a step back from that 2015 peak. His ERA went up to 3.25 and he walked 70 batters in 169 innings. The control issues would only grow from there, as he issued 45 walks in just 59 innings in 2017, eventually getting sent down to the minors. He’s been up-and-down between the minors and the Tigers in each season since then, struggling to earn enough trust to maintain a more permanent spot in Hanshin.
That was still the case here in 2022, as Fujinami made nine appearances down on the farm and 16 with the Tigers. In those 16 appearances for Hanshin, he logged 66 2/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 65 while walking 21 batters. He faced a total of 276 batters, meaning his walk rate was 7.6%, which is actually respectable. For reference, this year’s MLB average was 8.2%. That’s a huge improvement over 2021, where he walked 40 out of 238 batters face for a rate of 16.8%.
All of this seems to make Fujinami a high-risk, high-reward possibility for teams in free agency. On the one hand, he has hit 126 km/h (1o1 mph) with his fastball and has been elite in the past. Despite his decade-long track record, he’ll be just 29 years old next season. On the other hand, he has struggled so badly in recent years that the Tigers haven’t let him be anything more than a depth arm since 2016. There is likely to be a wide variance in how he is viewed by MLB clubs, with some completely uninterested and others willing to take a chance on his arsenal with the aim of helping him harness his tools.
Once he is formally posted, there will be a 30-day window where MLB clubs can negotiate with his representatives. If a deal is reached, the signing team will also owe money to the Tigers, with that amount being relative to the size of the contract given to Fujinami. Any big league team that signs him would owe the Tigers a fee equal to 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. If he does not reach an agreement with an MLB team, he will return to the Tigers for 2023.
Padres. Pen piece that can spot start similar to Nick Martinez this year. Seems like a worthwhile gamble on a 3 or 4 year deal.
This guy is a AAA depth pitcher.
Senga is the guy to sign.
Haven’t the Padres bought enough players? Can they honestly fit him on the roster?
Clevinger Manea Martinez and many other arms are free agents. Can’t keep everyone. Something like this for a cheap deal might pay big dividends. Say 3 or 4 year deal total value at max 20 mill or less . Wouldn’t break the bank and if someone wants to pay him more go for it
Martínez isn’t a free agent, but he has opt outs for this year and each of the next two, ones that he will surely take, making him an actual free agent at that point.
So where would MTR rank him? And does he play other positions like DH?
Is he related to Tatsumi?
Looks like a #5 starter, will be over priced and over hyped.
I assume that was supposed to say 162 km/h, not 126 km/h.
Maybe he throws all eephus’.
you don’t think he can impress teams with a 78mph fastball?
He can’t stick in Japanese NPB, but wants to pitch in MLB..? Good luck, kid. Hard pass for me. Plenty cheaper and younger arms that can throw 100+mph
Depends on who picks him up. I would be interested in fantasy if he goes to a team that develops pitching like Cleveland, Dodgers ect
Walking 4+ batters per 9 innings is the stat jumping out, sending a red flag. Makes him look more like a AAAA pitcher than an MLB player.
That’s more AAA or AA than AAAA
Arihara 2.0
Another arm that can throw 100+ MPH with absolutely no idea where it is going most of the time. Sounds like 75% of the pitchers in the majors now. Snore.
BB/9 in the league was 3.02 this year, the lowest total in 7 years. Further, you have to go back to the 1960s to find another sustained period of BB/9 that low. The fact is that pitchers are throwing harder and with more control than they ever have.
That’s not a fact. That is your interpretation. My equally valid interpretation would be that hitters are swinging at bad pitches far more often than they used to as well. Just because pitchers are not getting walks doesn’t mean they are pitching with control.
I’ve always considered Fujinami to be a poor asian’s version of Namishita.
What wasn’t mentioned is how he was derailed by his own idiot manager, another star player given the job solely based on his connections and previous positive NPB career, a time when brutal, insane things were done (MLB too). Kanemoto was that guy. Why the sudden change in 2016? How about this: Having thrown 131 pitches through seven innings at rainy Koshien Stadium on Friday night, Hanshin Tigers manage Tomoaki Kanemoto sent right-hander Shintaro Fujinami back out to face the visitors in the top of the eighth inning. He allowed three runs on three hits and a walk, while hitting a batter before leaving the mound after 161 pitches.
After the game, Kanemoto said
“The way he (Fujinami) opened the game was everything. The walks ruined him. My intent was that he was going to throw until the end, however many pitches he threw and however many runs he allowed. I want him to feel the responsibility (that comes with being an ace). I think that’s what he has to feel.” https://jballallen.com/kanemoto-goes-old-school-with-fujinami/
If his arm is fine, he could flourish at least in relief when he gets away from the team that wasted his immense talent and likely traumatized him. He, like Senga, could be change of scenery guy who will do well.
An organization like Cleveland, Tampa Bay, or LA would make the most sense. They get the best out of arms.
Exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps throw the Giants and Astros into that mix as well.
Ultimately sounds like a flier-type, but hey, you never know!
Also, I have a message that I somehow muted three people and can’t see their responses. How do I undo that? It was clearly an accident.
Go to your profile and then look at the muted section. You should be able to unmute them
Thank you.
I currently have 60 people muted. I have never been happier.
Judge has 62…still not the record though haha
Because there’s some stupid American baseball team that will pay us millions for your services..
He averages 4 innings per game over his last few years. Maybe more of a reliever than a starter.
Angels might team him with ohtani as a mentor.
That average is due to his being used out of the bullpen about half the time he got a mound. He’s got a good track record as a starter and as a reliever… just not ALWAYS good at both. He definitely had problems as a starter from 2017 to 2020…
I guess it depends on how much pitching coaches see in him. 101mph isn’t blowing anyone’s minds like it did 20 years ago, but it’s still well above average, so if someone believes that a couple tweaks in delivery are the key to his control (which, as the article states, was reasonably good this past year), I can see him getting two years with an option for a third, but definitely on the cheaper side.
The problem with the Japanese posting process is that only the large market teams have a shot at these guys.
Toronto signs bad contracts with Asian pitchers. They’re the perfect fit