Warning: players who appear in our live prospects listing, but are ranked near the very bottom of the list, may only appear because they were once ranked higher and still technically qualify. As a side-effect of our automated processes, the end of the publicly-visible list also collects longshots, recently-retired players, foreign players unlikely to enter MLB, near-busts and other extreme dark-horse candidates. It does not mean that there are not 'better' prospects, only that better prospects in our system lack enough accurate data and/or scouting inputs to become visible at this time. Always read the detailed information and consult other sources before drawing conclusions about prospect viability, and never, ever, ever treat a 'ranking' alone as if it's meaningful.
The Book on Kazumi Saitoh
Prospect Info and Scouting Report
Kazumi Saitoh / RHP, Japan
Born 11/30/1977
Kyoto,
Japan
Height 6-4
Weight 212
Bats/Throws R/R
ScoutingBook Combine Ranking (2/9/2012): #519 
MiLB.com Season Preview: Unranked or n/a
Scout.com/FOX Sports: Unranked or n/a
ESPN: Unranked or n/a
The Sporting News: Unranked or n/a
Baseball America 2012: Unranked or n/a
Baseball Prospectus: Unranked or n/a
Saitoh is a tall, lanky pitcher who, like many Japanese pitchers, makes use of his lower body to generate most of his velocity.
Saitoh's fastball is in the mid-90's, and has been clocked as high as 95 mph. He also throws a slider, curveball, excellent forkball, cutter and changeup.
Most of the time, Saitoh works with a darting fastball and tricky forkball, but he sometimes throws a sharp, biting curve to keep hitters off-balance. Saitoh's style on the mound is aggressive, and he has a reputation as a hard-driven competitor who wears his emotions on his jersey sleeve. He's retired from Japanese baseball, but Saitoh looks to have the fire, drive and smarts to succeed in America if he chooses to try his luck. He definitely has the stuff.
[ Bio Updated Spring, 2012 ]
No notes or updates today.
