There was a time when Shintaro Fujinami was considered an elite prospect. Now, he is fighting for his career.
It was not that long ago when Shintaro Fujinami was considered an elite prospect in Nippon Professional Baseball. There were debates as to whether he or Shohei Ohtani was the better pitcher, as the two were expected to become the next stars of the league.
Instead, while Ohtani went on to become the Japanese Babe Ruth and bring the two way player back to the majors, Fujinami cratered. He lost command of his arsenal, appearing lost and frustrated on the mound. The yips had taken over, to the point where he is being sent to the minors after a particularly disastrous outing on Tuesday.
After giving up 4 BB and 2 WP in a game today, Hanshin Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami has been assigned to the farm team for an indefinite period. https://t.co/sTom5TEzrs #npb
— NPB on reddit (@NPB_Reddit) March 12, 2019
In 2015, Fujinami appeared set to take that next step to superstardom. He had posted 14-7 record with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.226 WHiP, striking out 221 batters against 82 walks in his 199 innings. Armed with a fastball that topped out at 98 MPH, along with a slider and splitter, the then 21 year old was seemingly on the cusp of a breakout campaign.
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It would never materialize. After a down year in 2016, Fujinami fell apart. Over the next two years, he posted a combined 4.78 ERA and a 1.653 WHiP over 130 innings, walking 92 batters. He still struck out 111 batters in that time, but he also threw ten wild pitches and hit 12 batters.
The nadir may have finally come on Tuesday. He issued four walks and hit two batters, leading to his demotion to the minors. Fujinami’s issues with command even extended to his warmup throws and playing catch in the outfield, such as the throw that ended up going into the crowd, despite the valiant attempt to knock the ball down.
It is possible that a trip to the minors will help. This way, Fujinami can relax and reset, focusing on his mechanics and the mental side of the game. He may well need that change of scenery at the major league level as well for Japan, a scenario that was suggested back in July 2018. That is, if he is even able to come back from the yips, which have claimed several other careers.
Shintaro Fujinami is in danger of flaming out before he was truly able to tap into his potential. This trip to the minors, and a change of scenery, may allow him to once again become the prospect he had been.