Japanese Lefty Drafted In First Round
June 1, 2037
The Las Vegas Hustlers selected Tetsuzan Yamanaka with their 2037 first round pick, 24th overall.
Yamanaka, 17 years old, is a left handed pitcher from Kodaira, TOK, Japan who has been pitching for the Belfast Burgundy Brigade of the International Finishing Academy for the past two seasons.
"He's a lefty, which we love," said GM Matt Rectenwald. "He's shown awesome control this year (5 BB to 57 K's) and he's projectable to be a mid to top rotation starter by our scouts."
Yamanaka has a four pitch arsenal with his fastball, changeup, splitter and cutter all projected to be above average. "We think the changeup, which is currently his weakest pitch, could eventually become his out-pitch," said Rectenwald.
The Hustlers continue to scout and sign a lot of pitchers out of Asia. With Hyun-sik Chang (South Korea), Chin Kim (South Korea), Hao Kun (China) and Ryosei Akahori (Japan) already on their big league roster, the area has been bountiful for the Las Vegas franchise.
"I hope I can join those players someday in a Hustlers uniform," Yamanaka said through his intrepreter.
The Burgundy Brigade are out of the playoffs now, so Yamanaka is looking forward to signing with the Hustlers and starting his professional career. "I look forward to their negotiations," said Yamanaka, again through his intrepreter.
WHIV 2037.4- Japanese Lefty Drafted In First Round
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WHIV 2037.4- Japanese Lefty Drafted In First Round
Matt Rectenwald
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Re: WHIV 2037.4-
Me too:)
Matt Rectenwald
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Re: WHIV 2037.4- Japanese Lefty Drafted In First Round
I was super close to picking Yamanaka. The three well developed pitches besides the changeup are encouraging, but I was worried that if the change didn't develop, then his overall stuff would top out at 5 or 6. Maybe this is incorrect thinking, but it's what stopped me from picking him. I hope he works out for you, he's a really intriguing prospect.
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