The Marduk Nerv Class of 2012

by Gary Fuddgrunt
Shin Seiki Post
October 6th, 2012

http://pebabaseball.com/reports/news/html/images/marduk_nerv_110.pngThe end of the season is a time for contemplation, analysis and decision-making.  Those are the tasks that the Shin Seiki Evas’ front office was faced with this week.  The decision to promote players is not one that is taken lightly around those parts.  The desire to see your beloved prospects progress is natural, but advancement is not without risk.  If one promotes too soon, players could be overwhelmed by the higher level, underperform and never quite hit their ceiling.  GM Vail is aware of such things and generally promotes slowly.  After all, there is really no need to rush the “specs” when you are loaded in the LRS

When the 2012 Ruukii Kyuugi season drew to a close, the Marduk Nerv found themselves out of the playoff picture despite their second straight winning season with a solid 51-45 record.  This was a major disappointment to the squad, especially to the more senior players who were around for the dominant 2011 team that boasted a .708 winning percentage.  But the record was not the only thing causing stress down in A-ball.  Rumors of the imminent firing of manager Pete Joyce appear to have legs despite the Evas’ GM refusing comment on the matter.  Joyce was a last-minute, bargain-basement hire that made only $43,000 in 2012, and his contract is up as of the conclusion of the 2012 regular season.  When one considers the underperformance of top Marduk hitting prospects such as Koryusai Kakuta, Tabito Matsubara and Ryozo Takeuchi, it seems clear that he was not up to the task.  All of these things created a sense that the Evas’ most junior affiliate had begun to slide towards disarray, and disarray is not something that is welcome in the Eva family.

So in order to keep spirits high, it was decided that it would be beneficial to let the Evas of the future know as soon as possible who will be advancing to help them keep their focus going into the off-season.  Here are the players who will be making their home in Kyoto in 2013:

  1. SP Kawanari Masuda – This was a no-brainer.  Masuda is the Evas’ second-best pitching prospect and seems destined to wind up in the LRS one day.  He is a dominant power pitcher with a 97 MPH fastball, a K/9 rate of 9.35 and an ERA of only 1.73 in 2012.  The knock on him continues to be his endurance, but he threw at least 98 pitches in 14 of the 18 starts where he made it out of the 4th inning this year.  If he continues to progress along those lines, he could be an ace one day.
  2. 3B Katsuyoshi Yamashita – One of the top 3B prospects in Japan, he hit for a solid average at both A and AAA in 2012.  Had a couple rough months in June and July at AAA and was demoted in mid-August amid rumors of a severe eBay addiction that was detracting from his on-the-field focus.  The good news is that he seems to have figured out how to manage that, and he obliterated A-level pitching in September.  He looks poised to make big strides in 2013 with an eye towards a 2014 LRS debut.
  3. CF Katsuhito Sakurai – Not generally considered a big-time prospect, Katsuhiko still could have his uses as an excellent 4th OF or as a solid filler during an injury.  He plays CF well, has good speed, okay contact and excellent potential as a doubles hitter.  He was one of the best hitters for the Nerv in 2012 despite being only 20.  Maybe the scouts have underestimated him.  He’ll get the chance to prove them wrong in 2013.
  4. CL Sadakuno Tanaka – Posted another solid season in 2012, allowing only 7 ER in 25 appearances, good for a 2.70 ERA.  Projects as a decent MR, not really a closer.  Doesn’t fool a lot of hitters but has an excellent groundball percentage (66%).  Being a lefty, he might be able to get by in the LRS on that one day.
  5. MR Kosho Saito – 2010 8th round pick.  Flamethrower (95 MPH) with control issues (5.40 BB/9).  Dominated in A, so he earned a shot in AAA.  Could be a surprise value, but if the scouts are right, he doesn’t have the talent to pitch in Shin Seiki.  That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be useful to another LRS club.

With these additions, Kyoto is starting to look like a pretty stacked club.  Shin Seiki has a lot invested in their AAA prospects, and the future of the franchise over the next several seasons depends on them reaching their potentials.  No wonder the Evas spent the extra cash to bring in veteran manager Narahiko Nakamura to man the team.  Nakamura was the manager of the 2011 Ikari club that took down the Rodans for the 2011 Sun & Moon Unification title.  Hope fully he can bring that same championship-caliber performance level to Kyoto in 2013 so that those young players can acquire the mindset of a champion and bring home many more for the Evas over the coming years.  Time will tell, obviously, but to this reporter, the future looks bright in Kyoto.

Releated

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