Shintaro Fujinami (29, Oakland) was a rival of Shohei Ohtani (29, LA Angels) during his amateur days. He has entered the major leagues (MLB) like Ohtani, but his current form is not even on Ohtani’s toes.
On the 23rd (Korean time), Fujinami took the mound as Oakland’s starting pitcher in the 2023 Major League away match against Texas held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, USA. It was his third start pitch of the season.
Fujinami, who climbed the mound in the bottom of the first inning with a two-point lead, quickly set the score to the starting point. After walking lead hitter Marcus Simeon, he allowed a two-run homer over the left fence to Adolis Garcia in the fourth after two outs.메이저놀이터
The second inning became a nightmare inning. After getting one out, Fujinami, who allowed a turnaround with consecutive hits, brought the bases full. Here, with Yona Haim’s two RBIs and doubles, Fujinami contributed 5 runs only in the second inning and made a big inning.
Fujinami was on the mound in the 3rd inning when he had already given up 7 points. However, he allowed a walk to the first batter, Josh H. Smith. Then, after committing a wild throw, the runner on second base went all the way to third base with a floating ball from the center fielder. Then the Auckland bench also made a decision and got Fujinami off the mound. As the next pitcher, Adrian Martinez, got a timely hit, Fujinami’s earned run also went up.
On this day, Fujinami recorded 7 hits (1 home run), 4 walks, 2 strikeouts and 8 runs in 2⅓ innings. He had an earned run average of 14.40 for the season. Oakland, which collapsed from the start, also gave points in succession to pitchers who came up afterward, and eventually lost to Texas 3-18.
Fujinami’s start this season is disastrous. Having collapsed with 8 runs in 2⅓ innings from his first game against the Los Angeles Angels on the last 2 days, he failed to fill 5 innings in the next game. He achieved a quality start against the New York Mets on the 16th, but collapsed miserably in the next appearance. Since opening, he has only appeared in 4 games, and already has two 8-run games.
Controlling power, which had been pointed out since the days of Japan, was a problem. Fujinami contributed 15 fours in 15 innings on the season, racking up runners. Here, his hits are also as high as 19. His on-base percentage (WHIP) per inning is 2.07, which means that Fujinami keeps sending out runners at a rate of two per inning.
Fujinami, who showed a fastball that exceeded 150 km/h in high school, was spotlighted as a super high school level pitcher along with Ohtani. At the time, she was selected by the 4th team in the first round of the rookie draft, and was given a Hanshin uniform. After winning 10 games in his first year as a pro (2013), he was selected to the 2015 WBSC Premier 12 national team with a record of 14 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 2.40 in the 2015 season.
However, after 2017, Fujinami went downhill. He never pitched more than 100 innings in six seasons through 2022 due to pitching difficulties and injuries. Last year, he went 3-5 with an ERA of 3.38 in 16 games. However, Auckland confirmed the potential through pitching and boldly offered Fujinami a contract.
Fujinami showed the possibility of adaptation by recording an average ERA of 4.32 with 3 wins and no losses in 5 demonstration games. However, his current appearance is disappointing. If it goes like this, the chances of survival in the big leagues may be lowered.
As of the 23rd, Oakland, which failed to find the right ace, has an odds rate of 0.190 (4 wins, 17 losses), which is at the bottom of the overall odds in the major leagues. Perhaps Fujinami is still in the starting position because he is Auckland.