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Yusei Kikuchi 2019 Outlook: He is Poised to Make Strong Transition to MLB
6 years agoYusei Kikuchi is the latest star from the Nippon Professional Baseball league to make his way over to the United States. The Seattle Mariners broke the bank to sign Kikuchi in what has been a strange offseason, and intend to slide him in atop their rotation to begin the 2019 campaign. The 28-year-old southpaw posted a 2.81 ERA over his eight seasons in Japan (ages 20-27), and while his 2018 numbers were down just a bit from 2017, he still handled NPB hitters with ease-- 3.08 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 3.40 K:BB.
Kikuchi boasts a mid-90s fastball with some natural cut and a wipeout slider that has been an out pitch for him. His low-80s splitter (Deltagraphs calls it a changeup) has flashed plus but is inconsistent, and his looping curveball gives him a second respectable breaking ball. Kikuchi shouldn’t need much time to adjust, and while he may not have ace upside, he does have the arsenal to become a low-end SP3 in fantasy leagues right away. A full season of work -- he’s had shoulder issues in the past but didn’t seem to be bothered by it last season -- should allow Kikuchi to outperform his current NFBC ADP of 185.2.
