RP Hun "The Beast" Kwok
Hun Kwok, known to his friends and by scouts as "The Beast" (presumably due to his hulking 6'7 frame and "durable" injury rating), is a 23 year old RHP from Polgyo, South Korea. Without significant opportunity in a small coastal town (This writer couldn't find a wiki page on the place) on the southwestern tip of the baseball loving peninsula, Kwok went to Oslo where he played college ball for 2 years before getting picked up by Sydney in the 4th round of the 2052 draft. Kwok joins London as their sole R5 selection in 2055 and looks to make his GBC debut in 2056.
Kwok's frame matches his pitching style. He throws a 95-97 mph fastball and pairs it with a wicked changeup. Throwing over the top, he tackles lefties and righties well, and the strength of his changeup helps make him deployable in all situations. He's progressed quickly through the minors, throwing in 48 games in AAA in 2055. Over 61 IP, he posted a 1.62 ERA (233 ERA+) and 2.02 FIP (53 FIP-), holding hitters to an anemic .191/.239/.264 slashline. Unless you are the most glove-oriented shortstop of all time, that line is intolerable.
Kwok settles into London's bullpen where he will start in middle relief, but pending his success, may move into higher leverage duty later in the season.
RP Michihiro Tanaka
Michihiro Tanaka is a 23 year old RHP from Utashinai, Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. Coming over in a 2055 blockbuster from Buenos Aires that saw 10 players move, Tanaka is poised to continue working out of London's bullpen as he enters his 3rd GBC season.
In 81 career innings between 2054/2055 in the GBC, Tanaka's posted a modest 4.67 ERA (91 ERA+) and 4.51 FIP (107 FIP-). Last year's woeful 6.23 ERA likely was attributed to his poor batted ball luck -- opposing hitters posted a .403 BABIP on Tanaka. He'll likely start in a high leverage relief role to start the year, but if his other pitches develop, there's talks of him moving to the rotation. We will watch his career with great interest.
2B Naruhiko Okada
The 2nd native from Utashinai, Hokkaido on the list (it must be something in the coal? An old wiki article from 2023 suggests the city is Japan's smallest), Okada joins London for his 3rd season in the GBC after being claimed off waivers from Athens last year. Calling it his 3rd season feels disingenuous as he's only played in 82 games over 2 seasons, with most of that work coming last year.
Okada's calling card is his glove, as he's a plus defender up the middle. In 256 PAs in LON last year, he ran an uninspiring .207/.289/.300 line. While his performance in the minors was much stronger, there's bounceback potential -- Okada's BABIP in LON was a .264, but in all minor league campaigns, he never ran below .300. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but we likely haven't seen peak Okada yet. The switch-hitter is poised to come off the bench to fill in for 2B and SS, which should give him plenty of opportunities to shine.
CF Amin Asim
The Nigerian center fielder was a 6th round pick (44th overall) in 2052. Rated the #33 prospect in the GBC, it's not hard to see why: He plays all outfield spots and 1B. In 2054 between AA and AAA he posted the following lines:
385 PAs: .272/.332/.413 (AA) .275/.341/.388 (AAA) -- all strong performances and solid defensive flexibility.
He debuted in 2055 and in 136 PAs, had a much more muted showing: .233/.265/.310 good for a 55 OPS+. He starts on the bench this year where he will see plenty of playing time as a 4th outfielder. He's London's best bench bat and strongest bench runner, meaning he will likely get plenty of time despite not being penciled in as a starter.
C izz al Din bin Najeeb
The 25 year old catcher from Bahrain isn't new to the GBC, or at least not as new as anyone else on this list. He signed a 2-year $7.5 million dollar deal through arbitration after coming over from Jerusalem last year in a large trade. He started his career in the GBC at the tender age of 21, but it was his age 22 campaign that saw him break out, posting 3.9 WAR as a starting catcher.
His playing time in Jerusalem diminished in 2054 and 2055, and so did the results - he barely scrapped above replacement level despite his characteristically plus defense. His LON tenure got off to a strong enough start (.282/.357/.357 in 66 games) that he was offered guarantees through arbitration and he looks poised to make a comeback -- perhaps he can return to his age 22 form?