This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
Saitama Seibu Lions (16-15-1) at Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (19-14-1)
Wednesday, July 29th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (2-0, 3.71 ERA)
Saitama Seibu Lions: RHP Kona Takahashi (2-3, 5.34 ERA)
Game Preview
The Hawks are comfortably sitting at the top of the Pacific League standings and hold a 1.5-game lead over the Rakuten Golden Eagles ahead of Wednesday's slate. Meanwhile, the Lions are in third place and two games back with a 16-15-1 record, so they couldn't go over the second place even if they win here and the Eagles lose. The pitching matchup puts even more pressure on the Lions' offense, as the Hawks starter, Tsuyoshi Wada, has far better numbers than his counterpart, Kona Takahashi. While Wada has posted a 3.71 ERA thus far, Takahashi has a 5.34 ERA. With those figures, it's no wonder the Hawks arrive into this matchup as early favorites.
Injuries
Alfredo Despaigne - Out - Not Injury Related
7/7 10:42 PM IST - Despaigne (not injury related) is scheduled to arrive in Japan on July 19 and will then quarantine for 14 days before reporting to the Hawks, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Due to travel restrictions in their native Cuba, Despaigne and infielder Yurisbel Gracial have thus far been unable to join the Hawks, and it appears their season debuts won't be coming at any point in July. Even once they arrive in Japan and complete their quarantine periods, Despaigne and Gracial will likely both require
Saitama Seibu Lions (16-15-1) at Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (19-14-1)
Wednesday, July 29th, 5:00 AM EDT
Projected Starters
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (2-0, 3.71 ERA)
Saitama Seibu Lions: RHP Kona Takahashi (2-3, 5.34 ERA)
Game Preview
The Hawks are comfortably sitting at the top of the Pacific League standings and hold a 1.5-game lead over the Rakuten Golden Eagles ahead of Wednesday's slate. Meanwhile, the Lions are in third place and two games back with a 16-15-1 record, so they couldn't go over the second place even if they win here and the Eagles lose. The pitching matchup puts even more pressure on the Lions' offense, as the Hawks starter, Tsuyoshi Wada, has far better numbers than his counterpart, Kona Takahashi. While Wada has posted a 3.71 ERA thus far, Takahashi has a 5.34 ERA. With those figures, it's no wonder the Hawks arrive into this matchup as early favorites.
Injuries
Alfredo Despaigne - Out - Not Injury Related
7/7 10:42 PM IST - Despaigne (not injury related) is scheduled to arrive in Japan on July 19 and will then quarantine for 14 days before reporting to the Hawks, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Due to travel restrictions in their native Cuba, Despaigne and infielder Yurisbel Gracial have thus far been unable to join the Hawks, and it appears their season debuts won't be coming at any point in July. Even once they arrive in Japan and complete their quarantine periods, Despaigne and Gracial will likely both require rehab games in the minors to get their timing right at the plate before SoftBank elects to add either player to the active roster. In his sixth NPB season and third with the Hawks in 2019, Despaigne slashed .259/.355/.520 with 36 home runs, 88 RBI and 61 runs in 519 plate appearances.
Yurisbel Gracial - Out - Not Injury Related
7/7 10:40 PM IST - Gracial (not injury related) is scheduled to arrive in Japan on July 19 and will then quarantine for 14 days before reporting to the Hawks, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Due to travel restrictions in their native Cuba, Gracial and outfielder Alfredo Despaigne have thus far been unable to join the Hawks, and it appears their season debuts won't be coming at any point in July. Even once they arrive in Japan and complete their quarantine periods, Gracial and Despaigne will likely both require rehab games in the minors to get their timing right at the plate before SoftBank elects to add either player to the active roster. In his second season with the Hawks in 2019, Gracial slashed .319/.365/.595 with 28 home runs, 68 RBI and 61 runs scored over 410 plate appearances.
Yuya Hasegawa - Out - Side
7/7 2:47 PM IST - Hasegawa was removed from the Hawks' active roster Tuesday due to a right side bruise that is expected to keep him sidelined for approximately three weeks. The left fielder had a .400 OBP with one RBI and nine strikeouts over his first 11 games, so his loss is a significant one for the Hawks. The 35-year-old will likely be sidelined until at least late July with the injury.
Matt Moore - Out - Calf
7/9 4:41 AM IST - Moore is expected to miss about six weeks after he was diagnosed with a left calf muscle damage following an MRI on Wednesday, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Moore will miss significant time for the second consecutive season due to a lower-body injury, as he was limited to just two starts with MLB's Detroit Tigers in 2019 due to right knee surgery. After making the jump to Japan over the winter, Moore looked good in his first two turns through the Hawks rotation, collecting 14 strikeout over 10 innings. He'll now be on the shelf until the second half of August after picking up the calf injury in a workout Tuesday.
Dennis Sarfate - Out - Not Injury Related
7/7 2:10 AM IST - Sarfate joined the Hawks on Saturday after completing a 14-day quarantine following his recent return from the United States, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Though Sarfate is back with the Hawks, he'll have to get his arm reconditioned again after the layoff before he's deemed ready to contribute out of the bullpen. The Hawks are expected to assign Sarfate to the minors, where he'll make an appearance or two before being registered to the big-league roster.
Rick van den Hurk - Out - Back
7/17 4:47 AM IST - Van den Hurk (1-2) allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out zero over 2.2 innings as he was charged with the loss Thursday against the Buffaloes. After a dominant season debut, things have gone downhill for van den Hurk over his last three starts, and he's now been charged with losses in back-to-back starts. He failed to record any strikeouts Thursday while allowing seven baserunners. The right-hander carries a 7.29 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 21 innings this year.
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Expected Lineup
SP - Tsuyoshi Wada
8. Takuya Kai
Saitama Seibu Lions Expected Lineup
SP - Kona Takahashi
2. Sosuke Genda
3. Tomoya Mori
9. Yuji Kaneko
Top Picks
Yuki Yanagita, Hawks: Yanagita might cost 12.5 credits, but he is more than worth every single one of them and should be a must-start player in most lineups. He has nine home runs and 25 RBI in 148 plate appearances, but he is also slashing a robust .383/.507/.748.
Hotaka Yamakawa, Lions: Yamakawa has been the Lions' most productive offensive threat by a wide margin – he has gone yard 11 times while also adding 32 RBI and an impressive .998 OPS. The only downside is that he is "only" hitting .245 in 138 plate appearances.
Ryoya Kurihara, Hawks: Kurihara provides offensive value from the catcher position, and that alone is worth highlighting. He is hitting only .237 but has already supplied six homers and 24 RBI. The backstop is quite an asset to the team's offense.
Wladimir Balentien, Hawks: Balentien continues to be a productive player for the Hawks, but he depends on his power to make things happen. The slugger might be hitting a putrid .191 with a .291 on-base percentage, but he accounts for seven homers and 19 RBI already.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
P – Tsuyoshi Wada
C – Ryoya Kurihara (VC)
IF – Hotaka Yamakawa
IF – Kenta Imamiya
IF – Shohei Suzuki
OF – Haruka Yamada
OF – Yuki Yanagita (C)
OF – Wladimir Balentien
OF – Seiji Uebayashi
