Nippon Ham Fighters’ Naoyuki Uwasawa (29) will challenge the major leagues.
MLB Trade Rumors reported on March 29 (KST), “Nihon Ham right-handed starter Uwasawa held a press conference and revealed his plans to enter the major leagues. Since he is not yet a full free agent, he can enter the major leagues through a posting.”
Uwasawa is a starting pitcher with a career record of 70-62-1 with a 3.19 ERA in 173 games (1118⅓ innings) in Nippon Professional Baseball. According to MLB Trade Rumors, “Uwasawa will turn 30 next February. He has a 7.5 percent walk rate and a 19.7 percent strikeout rate,” according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Major League Baseball teams are paying attention to the Asian market this winter. With the exception of Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Cody Bellinger (Cubs), and Blake Snell (San Diego), this winter’s free agent class is lacking in big-name talent, and Asia is home to some of the biggest names in baseball, including Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix), Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom), and Shota Imanaga (Yokohama).
According to MLBTrader.com, “Since debuting in Nippon Professional Baseball in 2014, Uwasawa has been a three-time All-Star and has developed into a reliable starter in terms of both performance and durability. He suffered a broken bone after being hit by a line drive in 2019, but has returned to form, throwing at least 152 innings in each of the last three seasons.”
The outlet has consistently mentioned Uwasawa in its podcasts. This is because Uwasawa has consistently expressed his desire to play in the major leagues. “Uwasawa doesn’t have a fastball that averages 90.8 miles per hour (146.1 km/h), and he doesn’t have the same command that allowed him to strike out a lot of batters or the same command that allowed Kohei Aihara (SoftBank) to reach the majors, but major league teams are evaluating him to see if he can be competitive in the big leagues,” MLBTrader.com wrote.토스카지노
In September, Japanese media outlet Sportshochi reported that “Texas, Arizona, Cincinnati, Kansas City, the Cubs, and the Angels are all monitoring Uwasawa. There is considerable interest in Uwasawa among major league clubs.” “While he’s not in the same league as stars like Yamamoto and Imana, Uwasawa could be an interesting player in the market for a mid-level starter who doesn’t need a big contract,” said MLB Trade Rumors.
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