If you look at the virtually confirmed list of players for the Japanese baseball team, there is a prominent position. outfielder and shortstop positions. Fifteen of the 30 were filled by pitchers and three by catchers. Of the remaining 12 players, 8 are infielders and 4 are outfielders. 먹튀검증
Three outfielders belong to major league teams. Seiya Suzuki (29, Chicago Cubs) and Masataka Yoshida (29, Boston Red Sox) will be joined by Japanese-American Lars Nutba (26, St. Louis) and Kensuke Kondo (30, Softbank Hawks).
It seems that Nutba will be the first-center fielder, and Yoshida and Suzuki will be in the center of the batting line in left and right field. There is only one outfield backup, Gondo. Compared to the previous tournament, the number of entries increased by two, but the number of outfielders decreased by one. In previous international competitions, five outfielders entered.
Voices of concern emerge. It seems that infielder Shuto Ukyo (27, Softbank), who was a king of stolen bases, will be used as an outfield backup, but he is not a professional outfielder. Classified as an infielder, Shuto played 54 games as a third baseman and 50 games as an outfielder last year. In 2021 he appeared in 8 games as an outfielder. Another thing that stands out is that all four outfielders are not center fielders. It is evaluated that Yoshida has poor defensive power compared to his hitting.
I picked Genda Sosuke (30, Seibu Lions) and Nakano Takumu (27, Hanshin Tigers) as shortstops, but a variable came up. Nakano, who played 259 games as a shortstop over the past two years, is scheduled to change his position to second baseman this year. In fact, there is only one professional shortstop, Genda.
Japan national team coach Hideki Kuriyama (61) recently met Akinobu Okada (66), Hanshin coach, and asked for cooperation regarding the national team. Nakano trained as a second baseman at his team Hanshin’s Okinawa spring camp, then joined the national team and played as a shortstop. He is preparing to change his position, but he will train for his previous position in the national team.
Tetsuto Yamada (31, Yakult Swallows), who has extensive experience in international competitions, is the starting second baseman, and Maki Shugo (25, Yokohama Baystars), who has good hitting power, is an infielder who moves between first and second bases. There are many resources for first, second, and third basemen, but there is only one shortstop, the core of the defense.
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