A Japanese fireballer with a 164-kilometer-per-hour fastball will be traded from the worst team in the majors to the top team in the division with a shot at winning the World Series.
“The Baltimore Orioles have acquired Shintaro Fujinami, 29, from the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline,” MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, reported on Tuesday.
Baltimore is 58-37 (.611 winning percentage) and recently passed the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. With the Orioles pushing for a postseason berth, they were looking to bolster their pitching staff before the trade deadline, and Fujinami was one of their first targets. “The Orioles needed to bolster their pitching staff, and they’ve finally taken the first step in doing so,” said MLB.com of the acquisition.메이저놀이터
Fujinami, who made a name for himself as a high school rival of Shohei Ohtani (29-LA Angels), spent 10 seasons with the Hanshin Tigers in Nippon Professional Baseball before breaking into the major leagues this year in an Oakland uniform.
It was a rough start. After a rough start with four losses and a 14.40 ERA in his first four starts, Oakland moved Fujinami to the bullpen, where he made a breakthrough.
Since June, Fujinami has appeared in 17 games, striking out 20 batters in 19 1/3 innings and settling down to a 3.26 ERA. In his last seven starts in July, he has pitched better and better, with a 2.25 ERA. For the season, he is 5-8 with an 8.57 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings.
Fujinami’s best weapon is his four-seam fastball. He averaged 98 miles per hour (158 km/h) and topped out at 102.1 miles per hour (164 km/h).
Baltimore has an “all-star duo” in the bullpen in set-up man Yoenis Cano and closer Felix Batista. Add Fujinami to the mix, and the Orioles’ bullpen will be even more formidable.
This is the second time the Orioles have acquired a Japanese-born player. Prior to Fujinami, Koji Uehara played for the Orioles from 2009-2011. The last South Korean player to play for the Orioles was Kim Hyun-soo. Kim made his major league debut with the Orioles in 2016 and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2017 season. Prior to Kim, the Orioles also acquired Yoon Seok-min, who bounced around the minor leagues before returning to KIA.