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 Hitoki Iwase
Prospect Info and Scouting Report
Hitoki Iwase / LHP, Japan
Born 11/10/1974
Aichi,
Japan
Height 6-0
Weight 163
Bats/Throws L/L
ScoutingBook Combine Ranking (2/8/2012): #502
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
The best veteran Japanese reliever semi-available on the market today, Iwase would be a very strong closer candidate in America, though many teams may look at him in a setup role due to his left-handedness.
The only pitcher ever to post back-to-back 40 save seasons in the history of the Japanese Baseball League, Iwase has 114 career saves since being named closer in 2004.
Like the closer he replaced, the Dragons own Akinori Otsuka, Iwase gets the job done with a mid-nineties fastball and a nasty slider that makes batters look foolish. As an MLB candidate, he projects as an elite setup man or a very good, if aging, closer.
[ Bio Updated Spring, 2012 ]
| Pitching History | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yr | Age | Lv | Lg | Tm | W | L | GA | GS | IP | H | ER | BB | K | HB | WP | WHIP | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | |
| 2007 | 32 | - | Japan | Chunichi | 2 | 4 | 61 | 0 | 59.0 | 53 | 18 | 9 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 1.051 | 7.6 | 1.4 | 5.56 | |
No notes or updates today.