From Keith Law 西冈刚 Nishioka has reportedly asked his NPB club, Chiba Lotte Marines, to post him this offseason, and I can see why, as he's coming off a career year driven by an unusual and probably unsustainable spike in his batting average on balls in play. Nishioka has that Ichiro-style, half-out-of-the-box, no-leverage swing, but isn't the same kind of runner Ichiro is and can't use that swing to generate a bunch of extra ground ball hits. He has below-average power and struggles with fastballs over about 92 mph, and he may have to move to second base when he comes over. He has posted very good walk rates in Japan, however, and if that translates over here he can be valuable as an everyday guy on a second-division club. 岩隈久志 Iwakuma projects as more of a mid- to back-of-the-rotation guy than an ace despite his record in Japan, which includes a Sawamura Award (their equivalent to the Cy Young). He pitches differently than most of the Japanese pitchers who have come over, with a more conventional delivery and a pitch-to-contact approach that yields ground balls and few walks but not many strikeouts. He's 6-foot-3 and strong, getting good downhill plane on the ball, and likes to pitch backward, throwing a lot of sliders early in the count. He has a plus two-seamer, a splitter and a big slow curveball, as well as a four-seamer that's mostly 88-92. He tries to pitch down in the zone, only elevating the ball to change a hitter's eye level, and has been more effective against left-handed hitters, throwing two-seamers away and sliders at their back feet. However, he missed most of 2006 and part of 2007 due to injury, and like most Japanese starters has a history of very heavy use. In addition, Japanese hitters are taught to swing down at the ball, which works to his advantage, but he won't have that benefit when facing MLB hitters who are geared to hit line drives. Guys who don't miss bats in an inferior league worry me, but I like Iwamura's approach and willingness to use his off-speed stuff in any count, so for a team looking for a potential No. 4, he's a solid option. -- ※ 编辑: Westmoreland 来自: 118.160.69.158 (11/27 17:49)