Of the nine players out of the lineup, six, including Ren Nakata and Kikuchi, were pitchers.
After 3 straight wins, Hiroshima was in the B class for the 4th consecutive year. Director Shinji Sasaoka has retired, and Takahiro Arai, who is a former member of the team, has been appointed as the new manager, and the team is rebuilding its strength in order to make a comeback. So far, 9 players, including 19-year-old Carp catcher Yuta Shirahama, Tomohiro Abe, an infielder who contributed to the 3rd consecutive win, and Ren Nakata, have been reported out of action. On the other hand, it was announced early on that outfielders Shunsuke Noma and Ryoma Nishikawa, who have been granted domestic FA rights, will stay, and it is an off-season that conveys their seriousness for the season next.
Specifically, the pitchers who are trying to redevelop. Of the 9 players that were out of power, 6 players are pitchers. In addition to veterans such as Ren Nakata with a total of 267 pitches and 51 catches, and Yasunori Kikuchi with a total of 212 pitches, Sho Yamaguchi, Norihiko Tanaka, Itsuki Takahashi, and Takaya Toda, who had many opportunities to play in the first game. army, release them too. It was decided.
And 4 of the 7 players under control nominated at the draft meeting were pitchers. The 1st and 2nd places were high school pitchers and inlets, and the 3rd, 5th and 6th places were university and adult sites with a clear goal. In particular, Takehisa Masuda (Tokyo Gas), who finished third, is the fastest right-hander with a speed of 153 km, who started in the inter-city final. Although this is the axis, I would like to take time to cultivate Yuta Saito in 1st place and Shodai Uchida in 2nd place.
Among the catchers, 19-year-old Carp catcher Yuta Shirahama is out of the crowd. Still, there are veterans Aizawa, Sakakura, Sho Nakamura, and Isomura, and Kanohito Shimizu (Takasaki High School, Kendai), who is ranked 4th in the draft, joins them. The eight catchers are likely to compete fiercely for a regular catcher position.
This season, the 34-year-old Aizawa played the most in 98 games, but had a .207 batting average, three homers, and a .548 OPS. On the other hand, Sakakura, who played mostly at third base this season, left a good result with a batting average of .288 and 16 home runs. In his fifth year at the Nakamura Sho, he has a .193 batting average in 27 games.
(Full Account editorial section)
