TOKYO, Japan – If there’s one thing baseball fans worldwide can agree on, it’s that the postseason just hits differently. October baseball brings high stakes, electric stadium atmospheres, and intense on-field battles that define a team’s entire season in one series. As this year’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) playoffs kick off this weekend, here are five intriguing players to keep an eye on.
Yuki Yanagita blasts his 4th of the year to put the Hawks up 2-0pic.twitter.com/IzKWb05qce
— Gaijin Baseball/外国人野球 (@GaijinBaseball) May 5, 2024
OF Yuki Yanagita, SoftBank Hawks
Yanagita, already a six-time Japan Series champion, is hungry to add a seventh title to his crowded trophy cabinet. Before a right leg injury sidelined him for four months, the 36-year-old veteran was having another strong season, slashing .293/.405/.414 in 52 games. With a career of 1.073 OPS in high-leverage situations, Yanagita clearly thrives in big moments. In SoftBank’s 2020 Japan Series sweep against the Yomiuri Giants, he posted a 1.214 OPS in 4 games. Yanagita is ready for October baseball, but the real question is: is October ready for Yanagita?
Tomoyuki Sugano is expected to sign with a #MLB team in free agency per @jeffpassan.⁰⁰How good is he? Here’s him striking out Christian Yelich, Adam Jones, Giancarlo Stanton and Nolan Arenado x3 in the 2017 WBC Semifinal pic.twitter.com/L8KcSH8Szh
— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) October 5, 2024
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, Yomiuri Giants
Sugano, who turns 35 this week, was posted to MLB after the 2020 season but ran out of time and returned to the Yomiuri Giants. The franchise icon dealt with injuries and wasn’t at his best for several seasons but has rebounded in 2024 with another MVP-caliber season, maintaining a 1.67 ERA over 24 starts. Now, he’s ready to give the Major League market another try this offseason, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. The postseason will be his opportunity to win his first Japan Series title and go out with a bang.
Roki Sasaki’s 10 strikeouts tonight in a complete game effort
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 1, 2024
RHP Roki Sasaki, Lotte Marines
Sasaki has yet to complete a full NPB season, missing two months with arm discomfort this summer. Though his 2024 numbers were still excellent – a 2.35 ERA and 2.08 FIP with 129 strikeouts in 111 innings – they fell short of the historically great standards he set from 2022-2023. But he’s peaking at the right time, finishing the year with back-to-back double-digit strikeout games, including his first complete game since 2022. With his MLB posting status still up in the air, can the flamethrower deliver a clutch postseason performance and help the Marines advance?
Tyler Austin goes dead center for HR #25
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 2, 2024
1B Tyler Austin, DeNA BayStars
When DeNA played in the postseason the past two seasons, they were without Austin and failed to make it past the opening round. It’s difficult to imagine the BayStars reaching this point without his impact. He led the CL in batting average (.316), OPS (.983), and WAR (5.3). Injuries have stopped him in the past, but now the Team USA Olympian is ready to shine in his playoff debut.
🇩🇴 Franmil Reyes WALK-OFF Home Run!
His 25 game hit streak ended last week but he can’t stop mashing.
— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) September 11, 2024
DH Franmil Reyes, Nippon-Ham Fighters
Reyes struggled to adjust to the offspeed-heavy Japanese pitching early in the season, but he started to find answers in June and hasn’t looked back. The Dominican became Japan’s top slugger in the second half, smashing titanic shots at Es Con Field and leading NPB with a 1.032 OPS after the all-star break. Alongside other prolific mashers like Shun Mizutani, Kotaro Kiyomiya, and Chusei Mannami, Reyes will be at the front and center of a Fighters team looking to make noise for the first time since the Shohei Ohtani-led side won it all in 2016.
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WBN NPB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/japan/
