35 years old
1st major league season (Nine Seasons in Japan)
5'10" 170 pounds
Bats L/Throws L
The Good: In his nine years in Japan, he had a 1.26 WHIP and 2.4 BB/9. Although he averaged only 7 K/9 in Japan, this year he is averaging 11.4 K/9. So far this year he is 3-1, with a 3.12 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. His fastball tops out around 89-90 mph, has a plus change-up/screwball (79 mph), while mixing in a slider 79 mph, and a curve-ball 67 mph. He relies on a lot of deception.
The Bad: Pitching out of the bullpen this year, his longest outing has been 3 1/3 innings (75 pitches), so he may have trouble going more than five innings (although he was a starter in Japan). He has walked more guys this year than his career average (4.85 W/9 this year). Although this is a small sample size, there have been 14 hitters that have faced him twice in a game, and they are hitting .500. He had a reverse platoon split in Japan (lefties hit him harder than righties), but there hasn't been a split yet this year.
Role: He has been effective out of the bullpen as a long reliever, and he is making a spot-start for Jon Niese (placed on the DL for his hamstring retroactive to May 17th)
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