The Orix Buffaloes won their second straight PL crown on their way to the championship. They clinched it on the first pennant tie breaker in NPB history, as the Hawks had an identical 76-65-2 record. Masataka Yoshida helped lead them to the championship before requesting to be posted and signing for big money with the Boston Red Sox. The other big departure to the MLB was long-time Hawks ace, Koudai Senga, signing with the NY Mets. But as talent leaves, talent emerges. Roki Sasaki who was poised to blow up after a cup of coffee last season, certainly did just that. You should know about his perfect game by now, but if not here. He can make a claim already as the best pitcher in Japan at just 21 years old. Although, most still give the edge to the 24 year old, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, due to his longer track record and proven ace status. Yamamoto won the PL MVP (again) and the pitching Triple Crown (again). He's as bona fide as it gets. Both will get BIG pay days if/when they get posted to the MLB.
First place Orix Buffaloes 76-65-2 Won Japan Series
Yoshida leads the way. Yeah, his defense stinks, but you won't find a better bat outside of Murakami. A nice swan song for Yoshida before he starts his big league career. The offense overall doesn't really wow you, they might really struggle without Yoshida next year (they signed Lions catcher, Tomoya Mori, this offseason to try and fill the void). Yutaro Sugimoto had a breakout 2021, but took a step back this season. Yuma Mune won the Best 9 award at 3B, but that feels more like a reputation pick when you look at his card.
Foils: Masataka Yoshida, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Abe, Yoshihisa Hirano, Yuki Udagawa
Probable WBC participants for Japan: Hiroya Miyagi, Yoshida confirmed for the roster, Yamamoto isn't currently listed, but can't imagine he won't be included if he's healthy
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Yes, he's wearing Harper as a tribute to Bryce Harper.
Ptiching: This is what won them the championship. Yamamoto needs no further explanation, but it's not just him contributing. Hiroya Miyagi is a solid contributor and only turned 21 in August. Taisuke Yamaoka and Daiki Tajima are both great too and only a few years older. And the bullpen has some overwhelming arms. Yoshihisa Hirano is 38, but still getting it done. Shota Abe put up a crazy season with a 0.73 WHIP and 0.61 ERA. Yuki Udagawa only had 22.1 innings in the regular season, but was massively important to the playoff run, with another 8.2 scoreless innings. So I combined the results when making his card.
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Second Place Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 76-65-2 Lost to Buffaloes in Climax series
The Hawks had a nice bounce back from their very disappointing 2021 season, although didn't go quite as far as they wanted to. They lose their ace, Senga, to the MLB, however, they just gave out the largest NPB contract ever to, Kensuke Kondoh (you'll see him below), formerly of the Fighters. Outside of Yoshida, Kondoh is considered the best, "pure" hitter in Japan. He's consistently slashing .300/.400/.400.
But to focus on 2022, Yanagita might be showing signs of age. But he's still very solid, and took home another Best 9 award. Kenta Imamiya won Best 9 at shortstop and really emerged this season with both the bat and glove. There's a lot of good pennant run options on this team. A lot of younger guys got their shot this season for the Hawks, and played well in the limited roles. Ryoya Kurihara is one of the most exciting young players in Japan, got off to a hot start, but tore his ACL in the 5th game of the year. So his card, is more projection than anything, but I wanted to include him. Takuya Kai won Best 9 again, but look at his card and tell me that wasn't a reputation pick.
Foils: Ryoya Kurihara, Yuki Yanagita, Isami Nomura, Kenta Imamiya, Kouya Fujii, Livan Moinelo, Koudai Senga
Probable WBC participants for Japan: Yanagita (?), Senga(?), Kai, Ukyo Shuto, Shuta Ishikawa
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Pitching: Losing Senga hurts a lot, but they still have a lot of solid arms. Ishikawa and Higashihama are both on the wrong side of 30, but eat innings and are consistently good (Higashihama had a no hitter this year). Tomohisa Ohzeki looks on the cusp of truly breaking out. Tsuyoshi Wada has been pitching since 2003, and had his best season in years. The bullpen is strong, led by Livan Moinelo putting up another dominant season. Kouya Fujii only gave up an inconceivable 2.9 H/9 (Moinelo was at an absurd 3.8/9 himself). Moinelo and Fujii alone make their bullpen elite.
Note: Shinya Kayama only had 27.1 innings pitched in 56 games. He gets the LOOGY treatment. Will be fun to see if anyone drafts him this season, since we'll have some new handedness rules to use.
Third place Saitama Seibu Lions 72-68-3 Lost in the first stage to the Hawks
Hotaka Yamakawa is the best power bat in the set outside of Murakami, and I love watching his highlights. His long-time Lions thicc partner in crime, Takeya Nakamura, is definitely showing his age, but is sitting at 466 career home runs. Maybe he'll have a Pujols-esque resurgence next year. As mentioned earlier, they lost Tomoya Mori to the Buffaloes in free agency which will hurt next year. Sosuke Genda is still an elite defensive shortstop, and pairs nicely with Shuta Tonosaki up the middle, but neither is an offensive threat (Tonosaki may bounce back to prior offensive form). This team seems to be on a downward trend overall.
Foils: Hotaka Yamakawa, Tomoya Mori, Kaima Taira
Probable WBC participants for Japan: Yamakawa (?), Taira(?), Tomoya Mori, Genda, Kaito Yoza,
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Pitching: The pithing side is more optimistic for the Lions. Most of their top arms are on the younger side. Kona Takahashi took a leap this year (and apparently is talking about getting posted, which seems a bit premature). Kaito Yoza had a really nice season as well. I feel like I say this every set, but Kaima Taira should be the full-time closer, but isn't, although to be fair, Tatsushi Masuda had a very nice season. Apparently, Taira re-signed with the stipulation that he will be moving to the rotation next season. Their bullpen appears deep enough to take that hit.
Fourth Place Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles 69-71-3 Missed Playoffs
Hideto Asamura and Hiroaki Shimauchi lead the way for this team again. Both winning Best 9 awards. Ryosuke Tatsumi is still an elite outfield glove and the offense was step up this season. He'll be an early pick for sure. Haruki Nishikawa was a big acquisition for the Eagles last off-season. He wasn't quite up to his usual self output, though.
Foils: Hideto Asamura, Hiroaki Shimauchi, Ryosuke Tatsumi, Masahiro Tanaka, Yuki Matsui
Probable WBC participants for Japan: None are currently listed on the top team, but have to imagine some of the guys listed above make it
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Pitching: Masahiro Tanaka is still pitching well, if not dominant anymore. Yuki Matsui is as dominant as they come in Japan. Tomohiro Anraku is the only pitcher with 2 doubles on his chart.
Fifth place Chiba Lotte Marines 69-73-1 Missed Playoffs
The Marines season was all about Roki Sasaki. On the offensive side of the field, they have a few things to look forward to. Koki Yamaguchi and Hisanori Yasuda are both under 24 and look promising. Takashi Ogino is always very solid, but only played in 89 games last year. Their captain, Shogo Nakamura, had a down year by his standards. Akito Takabe led the league in steals with 44, and gives you plus outfield defense as well. 18 year old rookie, Kou Matsukawa, was an All-Star, but that was due to being catcher for Roki Sasaki, but it's fun to make him a foil anyway. Usually good Brandon Laird and Leonys Martin both took big dips last season. A return to form for each of them would be huge in 2023. Long-time big leaguer, Adeiny Hechavarria, struggled in his first year in Japan (not that he ever hit much in the MLB).
Foils: Takashi Ogino, Shogo Nakamura, Kou Matsukawa, Roki Sasaki
Probable WBC participants for Japan: Sasaki 
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Pitching: I somehow managed to miss this on my initial blog post. So very late edit here. Roki Sasaki needs no introduction anymore. Honestly, not much to say about the pitching staff beyond Sasaki. Some decent filler cards for the middle/back of your rotation and bullpen.
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Sixth Place Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 59-81-3 Missed Playoffs
New uniform, new manager (Tsuyoshi "Big Boss" Shinjo), same bad results. The Fighters have only made the playoffs once since 2016, when they won the title with Shohei Ohtani (he left after the 2017 season). And as previously mentioned, they just lost long-time star, Kensuke Kondoh, to the Hawks in free agency, so the near future is looking rather grim. They did manage to give a lot of youngsters significant playing time in 2022, so perhaps that will pay big dividends going forward. Kotaro Kiyomiya was a big prospect that has underwhelmed in his career so far, but seemed to find something last year. He's still only 23, so there's a chance he takes another leap forward in 2023. Go Matsumoto took a huge leap, won Best 9, and earned a rare 10 OB. We'll see if that's legit or an aberration. Chusei Mannami is an intriguing prospect, but seems like he has a long way to go before he's a solid contributor.
Foils: Kensuke Kondoh, Go Matsumoto, Takayuki Katoh
Probable WBC participants for Japan: Kondoh, Hiromi Itoh, Katoh (?)
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Pitching: Without a doubt the worst pitching staff. And by far the worst bullpen. Takayuki Katoh throws in the 80s, but gets people out. Hiromi Itoh is solid along with Naoyuki Uwasawa, but it falls far from there. Although, Cody Ponce had a no-hitter in one of his 14 starts, so maybe there is something there going forward. The good news is their pitching staff is all very young, so there's a chance for improvement. I kind of like Koki Kitayama's card, as long as you can tolerate baserunners. Taisho Taimai always seems to have that same card, low Ks, high groundballs, and lots of hits, but it's playable.
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That's it! Tell me what you think :)
Why are none of the Marines pitchers included?
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