John Tagamuchi, Tokyo Daily Times
November 7, 2013

This is the third of a three-part article documenting players who have improved during the 2013 season.  This installment covers relief pitchers.

Shin Seiki Evas middle reliever Katsuhito Maeda pitched wonderfully.  He had a low 1.98 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 63.2 innings over 58 games.  Compare that to a 3.62 career ERA.  Maeda started out in the LRS and improved in his first three seasons.  He then moved up to the PEBA, where he pitched well for a couple of seasons.  But his performance degraded notably until he was released by the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo.  Shin Seiki made quite a move in acquiring the 34-year-old.  They rightfully extended his contract an additional two years.  With a 5-2 record, Maeda definitely contributed to the team’s division-winning season.

Kure Arsenal closer Osamu Kohara put on his career-best performance with a 1.10 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over 57.1 innings in 56 games.  Compare that to a 3.55 career ERA.  Kohara has pitched well throughout his career, even having a 3.60 ERA in the PEBA during 2011.  But at 34, he performed in a manner that caught the attention of many.  Kure must be pleased that Osamu is locked up for another season.

Kure middle reliever Salvador Gutiérrez had a personal-best WHIP of 0.82.  His 1.85 ERA compared favorably to his 3.21 career mark.  He pitched 63.1 innings over 54 games, the most he has thrown yet.  Those are exceptionally good numbers for a 24-year-old.  “Mister Reliable” seems to be living up to his nickname.  Keep an eye on this youngster.

Fushigi Yugi Celestial Warriors closer Akio Sai has been busy building a remarkable career.  This youngster started by pitching a 100.0 inning 2.79 ERA season in 2011.  He steadily improved by notching a 2.52 ERA in 2012.  In 2013, he pitched a 2.26 ERA with a 0.85 WHIP, both career bests over 63.2 innings in 56 games.  Sai had 30 saves.  This looks to be one of the best pitchers in the league who may continue to improve.

Kure middle reliever Kiyoshi Shinohara pitched remarkably for 21.2 innings over 20 games.  He ended with a 0.92 WHIP and a career-best 2.08 ERA.  Compare that to a career 4.49 ERA.  Although the 34-year-old pitched the least amount of innings of his career, he made them count.  Shinohara suffered an elbow injury in October.  If he is able to bounce back from that injury and pitch a fair amount of innings in 2014, he will prove to be a valuable pitcher.  Kure has good incentive to re-sign him.

Shin Seiki middle reliever Yeijiro Sato has improved steadily if measured by WHIP since he began pitching four years ago.  His 1.09 WHIP was a personal low.  That is compared to a career 1.27 WHIP.  His 2.68 ERA was actually higher than his career 2.58 mark.  Still, his improvement in WHIP earned him a spot in this list.  At 25, Sato has plenty of time to build a career and seems to be doing the right things up until now.

Naha Shisa middle reliever José Nieves was used as both a reliever and starter.  He pitched 23 games as a reliever and earned a 3.39 ERA.  Compare that to a 4.35 career ERA.  Compared to his prior two seasons, he improved substantially.  The question surrounding his career will be whether he is able to remain a starter or will spend most of his time in the bullpen.

Kure middle reliever Tamuramaro Hara pitched extremely well.  He had a career-best 2.85 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 53.2 innings over 40 games.  This is in comparison to a career 5.00 ERA and 1.54 WHIP.  While compiling his best pitching performance, he pitched less innings and games than he has in the recent past.  If this 33-year-old reliever can stack up the innings at the level he pitched this year, he will do very well for Kure.

Neo-Tokyo Akira middle reliever Takanori Takano pitched remarkably.  He had a career-best 1.13 WHIP and pitched an amazing 136.0 innings in 67 games.  That’s quite a lot of innings of 2.71 ERA for a pitcher who did not start a single game.  Apparently, Joey Barden believed the 28-year-old could contribute a higher workload than he did with Kure.  After acquiring him via free agency, Neo-Tokyo pressed him into service.  For $660,500 per season, the reliever will be a great value if he can maintain that performance over a similar amount of innings in the future.

Edo Battousai middle reliever Shigemasa Morimoto returned to a form nearer to that of his outstanding rookie season.  Shigemasa has never really had a bad season, but in 2013 pitched a 2.38 ERA, which was quite a bit better than he’d done over the past couple years and an improvement over his career 3.22 ERA.

Kuwana Steel Dragons middle reliever Tsuginori Sato proved that he could pitch at the major league level.  He ended the season with a 2.36 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 61.0 innings in 47 games.  Following a troublesome 2012 featuring a 10.13 ERA in seven starts, Tsuginori seems to have settled down and gotten to work.  This 24-year-old will most likely stick around for quite a while.  It would not be all that startling if Sato were given another shot at starting now that he’s had some success in the majors, but that might depend on where his arm is needed most for a playoff team that is hoping to remain in contention next season.

Edo middle reliever Masamichi Takaki had a career-best season with a 2.25 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 60.0 innings in 52 games.  He earned a 7-4 record with 27 saves.  The 32-year-old has accumulated many good seasons, but this year compares favorably to his career 3.61 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.  Takaki is a pitcher who will help keep Edo strong next season.

32-year-old Neo-Tokyo middle reliever Motoki Adachi pitched a 1.90 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 52.0 innings in 40 games.  Compare that to a career ERA of 3.44 and WHIP of 1.21.  Neo-Tokyo acquired Adachi via free agency just before the start of the season.  He turned out to be quite the catch.

Hyakujuu Shinkansen middle reliever Ryuichi Samurakami had his best season in 2013.  He pitched a 3.55 ERA with a 1.69 WHIP in 45.2 innings over 27 games.  The 33-year-old must be proud of his contributions.  He did not win as many games (9-4) or pitch as many innings (82.2) as he did in 2012, but when he did pitch, he was definitely effective.

Hyakujuu middle reliever Mitsuoki Sakamoto had a good year.  His 3.67 ERA and career-best 1.15 WHIP allowed him to win eight games as he pitched 100.2 innings over 70 games.  Compare that to a career 4.01 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.  This has been quite a season for the 30-year-old.  He has pitched competently over his career, but this is one to be especially proud of.

Shin Seiki middle reliever Yoshiyuki Kikuchi pitched his best in 2013.  He had a low 1.60 ERA and 1.25 WHIP over 33.2 innings in 38 games.  Compare that to a career 3.03 ERA.  He accumulated 18 saves and had a 4-1 record.  He was used effectively as a starter in 2011 and 2012.  Unfortunately, Kikuchi’s season was cut short with a torn labrum in mid-September.  He will be out for most of next season recovering.  It will remain questionable whether the 30-year-old can mount a comeback.  It is not easy to recover from injuries at that age, but if one considers his past record, Kikuchi’s comeback seems likely.