_*_*_ THE DANCE CARD _*_*_
A Blog of the Toyama Wind Dancers
Wind Dancers Break Confident Camp
April 3, 2023, Canton – As expected, there were few surprises at the end of the Toyama spring camp. The guys who were expected to be on the plane embarking to Canton for the team’s road opener were on the plane, the guys expected to head off to minor league lineups were heading in that direction.
“It was a very good camp,” said veteran shortstop Shiro Adachi. “It’s kind of strange to have that feeling after several years where we were constantly trying to fill holes.”
This is a particularly interesting comment coming from Adachi, a man who will most certainly be taking a demotion, at least early in the season. Adachi, who will turn 31 before the season’s end, has been the team’s primary shortstop since he arrived on the scene as a 23-year-old. This season sees glove man Taro Kuono likely taking his role as the starting shortstop (at least until he proves if he can hit or not), and Adachi sliding to the utility role and platoon second baseman, hitting against left-handed pitching.
It says a lot about this team that Adachi can say these kinds of things. His counterpart, outfielder Sadatake Sato, is no different. “I’m happy to be with the team,” the soon-to-be 31 year old Sato says. “It’s an organization and a city that has been very good to me in times of struggle.” Sato, a one-time All-Star quality player, will likely be relegated to the 4th outfielder role after a series of debilitating injuries have dulled his skills.
Bottom line: sitting on the plane and feeling the atmosphere on this trip, one can’t help but get a sense of mission. The club has had a solid spring (10-4 in games played by the guys on the flight), and a spring in which no one got hurt (though newly signed Ace Clayton Lewis took some extra therapy for a tender back the past few days). All apologies to the Shin Seiki Evas and the rest of the Rising Sun Division, this is a club that should have the horses to compete for a division title, and a post-season spot.
THE ROTATION:
Clayton Lewis has looked every bit like one would think Clayton Lewis should look, throwing 11 innings and allowing only 1 run. Akira Watanabe was the team’s #1 last year, and the club would apologize to no one if he was the #1 this year, too. Shinobu Takeuchi and Tadamasa Hashimoto are interchangeable in the #3 and #4 holes. Takeuchi had a particularly strong spring, allowing only 2 runs in 11 innings.
The only question going into camp was whether the club would use 26-year-old lefty Bill Courtney or veteran right-hander Tsuyoshi Nishiyama as their #5 starter. The team’s new manager Hirotada Suzuki has announced that Nishiyama will hold the last spot in the rotation, mostly so that he can use Courtney and his left-handedness as a more strategic weapon during key leverage points.
This means the team will start the season with a rotation that consists of five guys, all of whom have proven capable of breaking the 15 win barrier.
THE BULLPEN:
The addition of Raul Cruz as the team’s closer is a game changer. “If there was a surprise in the camp,” said pitching coach Sadakuno Kouki, “It was just how much better Raul was than we were thinking.” He was untouchable this spring, and his signing means that last year’s closer, 26-year-old phemon Chad Miller, can let his 101 MPH fastball play out in the 7th and 8th innings alongside Bill Courtney and his 101 MPH fastball from the left side of the mound. This is before we get to savvy veteran Davis Sutherland (signed from Duluth) and his 98 MPH stuff. Manager Suzuki had considered including Sutherland into the competition for the starting rotation, but has suggested instead that the club will plan to get 100+ innings out of him from the pen.
Those four (Cruz, Courtney, Miller, and Sutherland) will get most of the high leverage innings, but let’s face it, when the “bottom” of the bullpen consists of Isei Makino, Victor Morgan, and lefty Hyeon-cheong Yong, all of whom have had good success in the past, you’re in a pretty good place.
THE INFIELD:
2B: Amid a season of huge injury issues last year, perhaps the biggest blow to the club’s fortune was the fractured ankle that 2B Jose Escobido suffered. Escobido has proven to be among the better lead-off hitters in the league, and without his presence at the top of the lineup, the team’s offense plummeted. Escobido returns this year, complete with a multi-million dollar arbitration deal, and a spring that saw him moving without difficulty.
SS: GM Ron Collins made no effort to cover the fact that he was looking for a shortstop to upgrade Shiro Adachi, whose defensive numbers had been slipping from elite level, and who has struggled to show he can hit PEBA hurlers. He came up essentially short—though the team did trade for Taro Kouno, who is expected to be a defensive wizard. Jury is out on this question mark, though if Kouno fails the team was quite pleased with the performance of AAA prospect Yejiro Endo. Worst case, Adachi can play the role again.
3B: The other question mark (though the team wouldn’t admit it fully) going into the spring was whether 23-year-old Ivan Juarez would be able to handle the job at third base. Forced into the role mid-way through 2022, it was clear the talented player was still a little green around the gills. But his spring numbers (.429/.556/.571) suggest the gills are just fine. In addition, team scouts have upgraded their expectation of his defensive capability.
1B: At 30 years old, this is probably the season that will tell the tale of Hirotsugu Tenno. We’re all aware of the massive Triple Crown season that carried the team to the Neo-Tokyo Cup in 2020. We now the fall he took when the club came to the PEBA. Last year was a season of two halves, an if the team gets a season-full of the second half, then things are going to be A-ok.
THE OUTFIELD:
LF: Last year’s injury ruined what had begun to look like 26-year-old star Okakura Ishikawa’s break-out season, but his spring numbers (.343/.415/.543) serve to remind keener observers why the team is so high on him—that, and his All-Star quality glove. It’s sometimes hard to remember that Ishikawa has been a solid player since he came to the LRS as a 21-year-old. A full season could easily see 15 homers, 30 steals, and a .350-.370 OBP to go along with a gold glove campaign.
CF: The team knew Sadatake Sato’s time in center field came to its end last year, so they went out and spent $5M on Crystal Lake’s John Martin, a guy who can defense the outfield as well as anyone, and who has proven the ability to get on base. With prospects Noriyuki Matsui and Donald Allen in the wings, this is probably a 1-season stint, but it should be a good 1 season.
RF: Potentially the biggest splash in an off-season of big splashes was the acquisition of Ivan Rosa. The 22-year-old his .329 with 20 homers last season in San Antonio, and tacked on 24 steals. Look for the club to attempt to tie Rosa up for as many years as Rosa is willing to be tied up.
CATCHER:
You tell us: was Yeijiro Kojima’s season a fluke last year? If the spring is any indication, things are all good here, as Kojima hit .314/.385/.429. Last year’s starter, 25 yo Eitoku Hirano, returns as the back-up, mostly because there was no one else ready. Hirano is still a reasonable prospect at this point, though he needs to prove he can hit .300 in the PEBA or his defensive shortfall will overcome his value.
OTHER STUFF:
The team also acquired professional hitter Clifford Green to play the 5th outfield role. It’s also fielding a AAA team that could be as good as any it’s fielded (and Yamauchi has won its division three years running), the organization's depth is pretty fair--though, let's be honest, another rash of injuries like the team suffered in 2022 will debilitate them, regardless. With Shin Seiki in the division, it’s impossible to suggest the Wind Dancers will win it, but fans are getting edgy. Excitement is up all around Toyama.
It should be an interesting ride.
