What is the Glaring Strength of Japan’s WBC Roster?
Though it was announced that Shohei Ohtani would only hit and not pitch for Japan next month at the World Baseball Classic, the team still has a formidable pitching staff. The unquestioned leader will be Yoshinobu Yamamoto. During the previous WBC, he pitched a little over seven innings, struck out 12 batters, and allowed two earned runs through two appearances. Since then, he has become a star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and added a World Series MVP Award to his resume. If he sets the tone, the rest of the pitchers will definitely follow suit.
There are returning members from the 2023 team who won it all or have spent time on the WBC stage in previous years. During the last rendition of the tournament, Yomiuri Giants reliever Taisei Ota completed four innings, surrendered four hits, and collected three strikeouts. Three years ago, Hiromi Itoh of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters had three appearances and pitched a little over two scoreless innings. Additionally, now-Padres reliever Yuki Matsui contributed a clean inning with no runs allowed. Though these pitchers only worked a fraction of the innings last time, they may be called upon to take on a heavier load this year. Tomoyuki Sugano was one of the pitchers on Japan’s 2017 team and had a performance for the ages, striking out 16 batters over three starts. The long-time member of the Yomiuri Giants in the NPB and former Baltimore Orioles starter will be looking to make an impact during his second go-around on the big stage in hopes of landing with another MLB team.
Other pitchers have been in high-leverage situations, but are getting their first taste of WBC baseball representing their native Japan. To start his career, Yusei Kikuchi spent eight seasons with the Saitama Seibu Lions. Now, he is a two-time all-star and has played for the Mariners, Blue Jays, Astros, and Angels over the course of seven seasons in the MLB. Additionally, reliever Daichi Ishii has averaged a 1.43 earned run average through five seasons for the Hanshin Tigers. Despite not having prior WBC experience, these two pitchers have plenty of other experiences to recall to become solid contributors for the team.
As a whole, the amount of WBC experience on Japan’s team is unmatched. Stats just offer a sample size or a glance at what they can do. Combined, this pitching staff has the ability to suppress the firepower of any other team on the circuit, including Team USA. With just under a month until the WBC, it remains to be seen how Japan’s top-notch pitching staff will fare against the top hitters of opposing teams.
