Adjust Font Size: A A       Guest settings   Register

Look Ahead to 2009?

Discussion in the Ask the Commish forum
Look Ahead to 2009?
By now all of the world knows about Fukudome, Fukumori, and Kuroda. It doesn't take much of a forecaster to know which Japanese players are going to sign in North America to play in 2008.

My question is, which players are most likely to join the Major Leagues in 2009, via either free agency or possibly through the posting system? Is there a list of players who are possible free agents after the conclusion of the 2008 season?
Comments
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: firearmofmutiny | Posted: Dec 11, 2007 1:54 PM | CD Fan ]

I don't know everyone, but I know Kenshin Kawakami is up for free agency after 2008. Maybe Iwase, too, depending on what contract he signed. (He could have a 1-year deal or a 4-year deal; he re-signed with the Dragons this off-season.)
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: TimMac | Posted: Dec 12, 2007 12:15 AM ]

You could also probably look at a trio of Giants in Shinnosuke Abe (catcher), Koji Uehara (sp/rp), and Tomohiro Nioka (shortstop).
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: Jbroks86 | Posted: Dec 12, 2007 9:03 AM | SFT Fan ]

- You could also probably look at a trio of Giants in Shinnosuke Abe (catcher), Koji Uehara (sp/rp), and Tomohiro Nioka (shortstop).

Abe [Sponichi - in Japanese] is still a far away from free agency. As mentioned on these forums many times before, the Giants don't recognize the posting system. So don't look forward to Abe in MLB in 2009.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: TimMac | Posted: Dec 12, 2007 1:38 PM ]

My apologizes, 7+1 does not equal 9. 2010 a more likely target date for Abe, again assuming no injury time between now and then.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: Guest: Fernando | Posted: Dec 13, 2007 6:31 AM ]

This is a good start. I have been doing a little research of my own and have learned that Kazumi Saitoh, the Sawamura Award winner, is a free agent in 2010 and might even be posted next year.

Also, Kyuji Fujikawa has expressed a desire to be posted next year, but he has at least 4 years before free agency, and the Hanshin Tigers are not too interested in losing him.

Now, I ask again, is there a list of possible free agents for the 2009 season that anyone can find in English?
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: westbaystars | Posted: Dec 13, 2007 8:17 AM | YBS Fan ]

In English? No.

In Japanese? Only if you look at every player's page on Sponichi, one by one.

I guess it's time to write a crawler to gather that information.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Dec 13, 2007 10:36 AM | HT Fan ]

But aren't we getting ahead of ourselves a little? I mean, not all the 2008 deals have been finalized yet. It's nice to speculate, but to demand a list of players for 2009 when we're still in 2007 seems a little, well, demanding.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: TimMac | Posted: Dec 14, 2007 12:11 AM ]

The reasoning behind this request, I believe, relates to the playing of "fantasy" baseball. For the fantasy player in a "keeper" league format, these players will be draftable this spring. Some might even be owned by teams now. For those very serious players this information allows them to get the edge on the competition by stashing away potential cross-over players for future use.

In my keeper auction league, we have relatively deep minors, and Kawakami is already on one guy's roster. Matsuzaka was owned a full year before he was posted.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: mijow | Posted: Dec 14, 2007 12:20 PM | HT Fan ]

Yes. I knew it was fantasy-related - it's obvious. I play fantasy ball myself. But a very serious player who really wants an edge shouldn't be asking this question in a public forum like this - he'd have the wherewithal to find it out for himself. It takes a bit of digging, but at least he wouldn't be telegraphing his moves!
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: Guest: Fernando | Posted: Dec 14, 2007 11:26 AM ]

Tim Mac - You are bang on correct. Our keeper league has reached a point where top ranked high school and college players are also selected. It makes far more sense to me to draft a Japanese league star and wait for him to be a free agent. In 2005, I drafted Matsuzaka, Kei Igawa, and Matsunaka. Matsunaka signed a major contract in Japan, however Igawa and Dice-K came over in 2007, with different levels of success. In 2007, I drafted Fukudome and Saitoh. Fukudome will be in the MLB in '08 and Saitoh may be by '09.

I'm sure there are other "researchers" like me. Any more insight is always appreciated.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: Guest | Posted: Dec 15, 2007 12:23 AM ]

If your league is that deep and you have the room, I'd certainly recommend Norichika Aoki, if he's not already on somebody's bench.
Re: Look Ahead to 2009?
[ Author: Guest: Gary Garland | Posted: Dec 15, 2007 2:35 AM ]

Kimiyasu Kudoh! Lol.

Uehara will be the big name.

Iwase looks set to finish his career in Japan. Boy, he could have made a mint in MLB. But I guess it just wasn't in his comfort zone to take the chance. I also wonder if there was some under the table money involved.

Yakult reportedly told Norichika Aoki that they will not post him. So it is said he won't be eligible for free agency until 2013 or 2014.

SoftBank has three pitchers on their staff who want to be posted or are mulling it in Arakaki, Wada, and Saitoh. But SoftBank has said that they won't accommodate those requests.
About

This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.

It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.

Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder

Search for Pro Yakyu news and information
Copyright (c) 1995-2024 JapaneseBaseball.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Some rights reserved.