Takanawa Times Volume 8
Monday, June 23, 2012

I am Tricia Takanawa, and we are going to look at the recent draft.  The Seoul Crushers had four 1^st round picks.  The Crushers have had a few bad years and a couple former GMs who seemed to want to drive the team in the gutter.

That changed within the last year with the addition of GM Mark Kierstead.  Kierstead quickly started making moves – some that seemed good and some that seemed bad.  He traded SP Yugoro “Checkmate” Chouda, who was one of the best pitchers in the league, to the Kure Arsenal.  That trade would somewhat define Kierstead.  He wanted to fill up his minors with great talent and would do what it seems anything.  He made several more trades that would work in his favor.  When the draft finally arrived, Seoul had the 1^st, 2^nd, 5^th, and 8^th pick in the very first round.

With the 1^st pick in the draft, Kierstead – who showed up late – chose SP Jun’ichi Yoshino.  “Hobo”, as he likes to be called, had a stellar college career.  Yoshino was by far the pitcher in the draft.  With the 2^nd pick in the draft, Seoul took another pitcher.  Naizen Chikafuji was rated even better then Yoshino by many scouts.  Chikafuji also had a great college career.  With the Yoshino/Chikafuji combo, how can you go wrong?  Barring any severe injuries, those two should tear up the mound for the Ranma Pandas.

This is where the draft got tricky for Kierstead.  He made many calls and hoped with his 5^th overall pick he would get a decent bat.  Well, when time came around, Kierstead noticed SS Tadamichi Sato still on the board.  Sato scouted as one of the best batter in the draft pool.  With a dire need for pitchers in the draft, Sato dropped from what many scouts had as a top 3 pick to 5^th overall, where Kierstead nabbed him.  Sato has speed, defense and smarts for the game.  With his work ethic, the sky is the limit for his talent.

With the 2012 draft class being what many GMs called “weak” and “talentless”, any player with a slight skill set was being drafted.  With his last pick in the 1^st round and 8^th overall, Seoul was looking for the best talent out there possible, so they selected CF Nimulodi Chekhemani.  “Chek”, for short, was what we would call a one-in-a-million player.  He was, perhaps, the best hitter in the draft in many aspects but, being a gaijin, was passed over.  Chek played college-level ball that made him dominate the high school level.  Chek was rated by many GMs even better then Sato; not as fast or defensively talented, but his bat spoke louder words.

Seoul didn’t have another pick until the 3^rd round, where they took SP Sakutaro Sano.  Sano may not have been a highly sought-after player, but he has the skill and the work ethic to bring great things to the league in a few years.

Overall, I would give the Seoul Crushers an A+ in the draft.  They filled very important positions and got what could be called the two best pitchers and two best hitters in the draft.  The baseball gods were looking over the Crushers that day.

Look forward to my next edition, when we cover the recent draftees move to the minors.  I will look at how well they are (or aren’t) playing.  I am Tricia Takanawa, and this is the Takanawa Times.