In this monthly rundown of Major League Baseball’s Japanese players, we look at how the eight imports performed in June.
Shohei Ohtani
After being virtually untouchable in his first five starts of the season, Ohtani posted a 4.06 earned-run mark in May and then rebounded to 3.26 in June. He had an outstanding start on June 27 against the Chicago White Sox, allowing four hits and one run while striking out 10 in 6.1 innings.
In a published report June 12, Ohtani acknowledged that he had been dealing with some fatigue, perhaps because the Angels have tried to maximize Ohtani’s starts this season – making sure he pitches every sixth day. He made 28 starts in the 2022 season and was on pace for 32 at the end of June.
“I have been pitching more often compared to the last two years,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. “There are times I feel a little more fatigued maybe because of that. But for the most part, I feel pretty good and healthy right now.” For the season, Ohtani has a 7-2 mark with a 3.02 earned-run average and a 1.04 WHIP
It was a much different story in his designated-hitter role in June; Ohtani’s bat does not tire like his arm. After averaging just .243 in May, he batted .394 in June with other-worldy .492 and .952 on-base and slugging percentages. He hit 15 home runs and drove in 29 runs during the month and went 11-20 in his last six games of the month. His last home run came on the final day of June against Arizona and was the longest in MLB so far this season – leaving the bat at 115.1 miles per hour and traveling a projected 493 feet. As of June 30, he led both leagues in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS, and he was tied for the lead in RBIs and triples.
He ended June batting .310 with season marks of 30 home runs, 67 RBI, and a 1.070 OPS.
In a separate matter, regarding the rumors of where Ohtani may land after his contract expires at the end of this season, Angels General Manager Perry Minasian said they do not plan to deal him at the trade deadline since the club was 44-40 going into July and in contention for their first playoff spot since 2014. If they don’t trade him, he could sign with another team in the off-season, and Los Angeles would receive only draft-pick compensation in return.
Masataka Yoshida
In the first season of a five-year, $90 million contract with the Red Sox (plus a $15.4 million posting fee to his Japanese team, the Orix Buffaloes), Yoshida has mostly been proving his doubters wrong, although he sagged toward the end of June and fell off from his very strong May performance. He averaged .354 with a .962 OPS in May, but fell to .269 and .742, respectively, in June. He was 2-19 over a six-game stretch before finishing the month with a 3-4 effort against Toronto.
In a recent blog posting, author and long-time Japanese baseball follower Robert Whiting quoted an MLB agent as saying that “Yoshida’s approach…is good. He has great control of his strike zone along with contact skills and can hit the ball to all fields. He has always had a high OBP, high walks, and doesn’t strike out much. He doesn’t chase many bad pitches. I also think his small frame is an advantage in regards to controlling and covering his strike zone. Seiya Suzuki also has good control of his strike zone but tends to be more susceptible to swinging at breaking balls outside the zone.”
Whiting also noted that the average velocity of pitches in the Nippon Professional Baseball ranks has increased, meaning that Japanese hitters have less of a transition to make when facing MLB pitchers.
Yoshida is at .301 for the season with nine home runs, 40 RBIs, and an .847 OPS.
Seiya Suzuki
So far, Suzuki has had a down-up-down season. He batted just .254 in April but averaged .319 in May while hitting five home runs and driving in 13 runs. However, he fell way off in June, averaging just .177 with a .475 OPS. He was hitless in his last 13 at-bats of the month and was hitless in 11 of the 20 games in which he participated.
Encouragingly, he had posted an on-base mark of .417 in May, but he fell to .247 in June. His ability to get on base at a high rate was one of the qualities that had originally caught the Cubs’ eye, but he has yet to consistently show that in MLB.
His season statistics include a .253 batting average, six home runs, 26 RBI, and a .735 OPS.
Yu Darvish
Darvish, unexpectedly, has been a model of inconsistency during the first two months of the season, though the Padres’ starting rotation had the National League’s best ERA as of Monday, June 27. He was decent in April and had five quality starts in his first seven outings, but he posted a 5.74 earned-run mark in May and an ERA of 5.40 in his four starts in June.
He began June with an excellent start against the Cubs – seven innings, two hits, no runs, one walk, nine strikeouts – but allowed 14 earned runs in 16.1 innings over his next three starts against Colorado, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco. He was scheduled to start against Pittsburgh on June 28 but was scratched because of an unspecified “illness” and then scratched from a June 30 start against Cincinnati. He is currently penciled in to pitch on July 2.
On the bright side, Darvish earned his 100th MLB victory on June 9 over Colorado, despite giving up four earned runs and four walks in 5.1 innings.
For the season, Darvish is 5-6 with a 4.84 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. The latter mark is his highest since the 2018 season and the fourth-highest of his 11-year MLB career.
Yusei Kikuchi
Kikuchi, too, has had bouts of inconsistency this season. After a very good April performance, he fell off in May with a 5.83 ERA and a bloated 1.67 WHIP. However, he rebounded very well in June, with a 2.28 earned-run mark in five starts, 33 strikeouts in 27.2 innings, and a terrific 0.87 WHIP.
There is optimism, though, that Kikuchi can become more consistent and harness his ability. The home runs allowed continue to be an issue, as he gave up nine in 29 May innings and five more in June. He is more consistently in the strike zone than he has been, but that leaves him more vulnerable to the home run.
For the season, Kikuchi is 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA and 1.23 WHIP, the latter significantly lower than his career mark of 1.39.
Kodai Senga
Senga, in his first MLB season, has also been inconsistent. He posted a 2-2 mark with a 2.79 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in May, but his ERA and WHIP increased to 3.71 and 1.35 in June.
He has had problems with poor command and struggled to get ahead in counts, particularly in road games. He allowed 15 bases on balls in 26.2 innings in June and has given up 46 in 81.2 innings this season.
“If he can just tighten up on the walks…” Mets’ catcher Francisco Alvarez said through an interpreter, when asked about the experience of catching Senga.
Senga had a very good outing against Pittsburgh on June 10, allowing just two hits and one run (unearned) in seven innings, though he did walk four batters. In his other four starts, he gave up 11 earned runs in 19.2 innings.
For the season, he is 6-5 with a 3.53 earned-run mark and a 1.35 WHIP.
Kenta Maeda
Maeda had a difficult beginning to his first season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2021, but there is reason for optimism after he returned from the Injured List and spent time in AAA on a rehab assignment. On June 23, he made his first MLB start since April 26 and went five strong innings against Detroit, allowing no runs, three hits and striking out eight. He followed that on June 28 with a solid performance (five innings, five hits, two runs) in a loss to Atlanta.
In his four April starts, he had gone 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA and allowed 23 hits in 16 innings. He went on the 15-day Injured List on April 29 because of a triceps strain in his right (pitching) arm that was reported to be unrelated to the Tommy John surgery.
He was sent to the Twins’ St. Paul minor-league affiliate on May 30 to begin the rehab assignment and made four starts there, posting a 2.02 earned-run average in 13.1 innings with a 1.12 WHIP and 17 strikeouts and five walks.
According to one report prior to his going on the Injured List, “some of [Maeda’s] pitches have been stellar, but his fastball has bitten him hard this year . . . The splitter and slider are not the cause of Kenta’s poor start, but his fastball is looking a little suspicious . . .”
If Maeda continues to come back strongly, it will give a boost to the Twins, who had just a one-game lead in the AL Central Division as of June 30. Seasonally, he stands 1-5 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.
Shintaro Fujinami
Fujinami was hit hard in his first four outings this season and was moved to the bullpen in the latter part of April. If June is any indication, he may finally be making some progress. Thanks in part to his last two outings in which he pitched four scoreless innings, he was 1-2 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in June, which was a major improvement over his April and May performances (his ERA had been 13.00 in April and 10.50 in May). He allowed no runs in seven of his 10 June outings.
Perhaps Fujinami’s most impressive outing of the season was his performance as the Oakland “opener” on June 13 against the Tampa Bay Rays, who own MLB’s best record. A boisterous home crowd showed up on a Tuesday night as part of a “reverse boycott.” Their goal: to show Oakland owner John Fisher that Oakland indeed has a large, passionate fan base. Fujinami’s electric stuff, including a 101 MPH fastball, matched the energy of the crowd. In perhaps the biggest stage “Fuji” would grace this season for a hapless A’s team, he retired three of four hitters, striking out one and only allowing an infield hit.
His long-standing issues with command have continued, as he issued eight walks over 12 innings in May and then six in 11.1 innings in June. His stuff has been there, so it’s a matter of harnessing his sometimes-triple-digit fastball and throwing more strikes.
For the season, Fujinami is 3-7 with a 9.80 earned-run mark and a very high 1.89 WHIP in 41.1 innings.
