Mets to Sign Teenager

» 04 September 2009 » In mlb prospects »

This one is about is about as under-the-radar as it gets — according to ChuSpo, the Mets have agreed to sign Japanese teenager Taiki Kawasaki to a minor league contract. Kawasaki is a 17 year-old left handed pitcher who had been training at Julio Franco’s baseball academy in Florida. The Osaka native left Japan after finishing junior high school in April 2008 with the hopes of catching on with an MLB organization. In his time in Franco’s academy, Kawasaki has grown from 177cm, 66kg (5’10, 145) to 185cm 77kg (6’1, 170), and added velocity to his fastball, which now averages around 140kmph (about 87mph). An older report mentions that Kawasaki has a slider and curve as well.

I couldn’t find any English info on this signing, but this ESPN Deportes article from last year mentions Kawasaki’s presence at Franco’s academy. Franco will reportedly travel to Japan in mid-October to officially announce the signing.

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  1. Patrick
    passerby
    05/09/2009 at 12:39 am Permalink

    mlbtraderumors misquotes your article as saying that he left Japan after high school. I just don’t know what to say. He’s so young and only jr. high education. He’s younger than Shimabukuro was, who probably had to learn the hard way that he would have to start a new life.
    http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Ryohei-Shimabukuro.shtml

    I certainly don’t have any ill wishes, but yeah, um, I don’t know what to say.

  2. Patrick
    John Brooks
    05/09/2009 at 11:03 am Permalink

    Well, hopefully the teams require somekind of education, but I mentioned this way back over at Japanese Baseball when reversely, the Hanshin Tigers drafted pitcher, Kento Tsujimoto. I seem to remember Marty Kuenhart of the Eagles, then of the Japan Times, saying something about the lack of education in Japan and a lot of emphasis on baseball, maybe I’m wrong since I cant find the article, but I seem to remember Kuenhart complaining about this.

    Returning to Tsujimoto, for those who dont remember him he was drafted at age 15 or 16 I think. The sad thing is what happens to these players if there professional baseball career fails and they get blacklisted for it, as the old commerical went “an education is a terrible thing to waste”.

    As for this guy, Kawasaki, If I’m remember right Japan doesn’t have the same education practices as the U.S. in where you can stop after junior high w/o going through high school. Though, MLB amateur rules say you can sign someone as long as their 16+ years old. As long as his birth certificate says he’s 17, there’s not much anyone can do. Now, its a young age to have to break into a new culture and what could be a culture shock, but I cant see how his situation is any different than Tsujimoto. Tsujimoto has yet to play at ichi-gun(top level) yet since being drafted in 2005, and is younger than my younger brother. Both of them are throwing away an education, which is determental to them if they say have a career ending injury. Then what?

  3. Patrick
    m1
    05/09/2009 at 12:14 pm Permalink

    Latin America has provided teenage professionals so I see no issue here on the education front. If he has the goods he’ll adapt. Also, I’ve read MLB teams now are more sensitive to the support needed for young international players. Plus it’s not impossible to get an education at a older age if he doesn’t make it. The thinking that he’s wasting a chance at education is not well thought out and cliched.

    Now as a Mets fan I’m very excited with this news. Being extremely disappointed that the Mets did not sign Junichi Tazawa, I welcome this news and hope Kawasaki becomes someone to root for. I would definitely appreciate if NPB tracker cover any new news on him as time goes along.

  4. Patrick
    Patrick
    05/09/2009 at 9:09 pm Permalink

    Actually, since this kid never went to high school, I think it probably would be pretty tough to start over from that point at a later age. But he presumably complied with the legal requirement for education in Japan, and chose not to continue. He isn’t from a country where education is not available, and I don’t fault the Mets for giving him a job.

  5. Patrick
    John Brooks
    05/09/2009 at 10:40 pm Permalink

    Okay, first off I was confused the article I was looking for earlier was by Jack Gallagher of the Japan Times, seen here. Though wait a minute, here is the article that quotes Marty Kuenhart:

    If you go to a baseball powerhouse — like PL Gakuen (in Osaka) — you don’t study, and everybody condones it. Teachers, parents, media. I don’t agree with it. If you are Ichiro or one of the Matsuis, not only are you allowed to play baseball all day, you are encouraged to. Teachers turn a blind eye when kids come to class and go to sleep.

    Returning to Tsujimoto, as Gallagher pointed out what about this kid’s social skills with his own age group? I also liked this comment quoted from the article, given by the NPB office:

    It’s just a 15-year-old boy getting a job. Being a professional baseball player is no more than getting an occupation. That’s it and there is no problem

    There’s no problem if this kid’s career ends all of sudden due to injury and he has no chance of going back and getting an education. Also, like Gallagher mentioned why couldn’t the guy who gave the quote gave his name?

    Actually, since this kid never went to high school, I think it probably would be pretty tough to start over from that point at a later age. But he presumably complied with the legal requirement for education in Japan, and chose not to continue. He isn’t from a country where education is not available, and I don’t fault the Mets for giving him a job

    Ok, Patrick, I’m a little confused are you saying that its hard for the kid to get an education in Japan since he dropped out before high school or that he’s in good hands where an education is available? Yeah, I understand the Japanese high school system, its complete the 9th grade and your done legally, though mine point is the system in Japan is failing the person as an individual by allowing them to drop out at such a young age. What are the odds of becoming a successful MLB pitcher, I say hundreds of international amateurs are signed each year, what is the odds all of them make the majors? Very low, just the same as the MLB draft, but at least they got a backup plan with an education if there MLB career is all of sudden ended with a freakish injury or what ever before making it big or even out of A. Heck, the guy couldn’t even throw a pitch and be injured in practice.

  6. Patrick
    Patrick
    05/09/2009 at 11:08 pm Permalink

    Ok, Patrick, I’m a little confused are you saying that its hard for the kid to get an education in Japan since he dropped out before high school or that he’s in good hands where an education is available?

    I’m saying that having not finished high school, he’s further away from having a solid education than someone who bypasses college for a sports career. Assuming he hasn’t been taking a GED course or something, if he flames out as a pitcher and wants to go back to school, he’d have to start over at the high school level. I consider that to be a more daunting task than, say, going to college in your mid-20’s. I think that’s the case wherever you are.

    Kawasaki made a choice that I wouldn’t have (and didn’t) make myself, but what’s the point in debating it? He could have left school and taken a regular job somewhere and we would have never heard of him.

  7. Patrick
    John Brooks
    05/09/2009 at 11:20 pm Permalink

    Kawasaki made a choice that I wouldn’t have (and didn’t) make myself, but what’s the point in debating it? He could have left school and taken a regular job somewhere and we would have never heard of him.

    Okay, I understand where your coming from more now, so its easier to reply. As the article I mentioned said it will be harder for him to complete his education, unless he took a GED course like you mentioned.

    Second, I think you’re confused, I don’t understand where your coming from:

    He could have left school and taken a regular job somewhere and we would have never heard of him

    It would been the same with me here, he’s still throwing away an education. I’m not really worried about arguing debating whether its right or wrong, what I’m saying is its failing the person as individual as a member of a MLB organization say a career ending injury occurs or as you said he took a regular job elsewhere. Either way what I said above would been true. The kid is going to have a hard time making a career for himself.

  8. Patrick
    yakamashii
    06/09/2009 at 3:51 am Permalink

    It’s not difficult to get a high school education in Japan if you’ve dropped out. There are hundreds of night schools that work around students’ work schedules and turn out plenty of graduates.

    He could have left school and taken a regular job somewhere and we would have never heard of him.

    Plenty of people do it. If he flames out and returns to Japan to work/continue his education, we’ll never hear from him again.

  9. Patrick
    Patrick
    06/09/2009 at 8:05 am Permalink

    Okay, I understand where your coming from more now, so its easier to reply.

    ….

    Second, I think you’re confused, I don’t understand where your coming from:

    I’m not confused John. Let me break it down again:

    1. Kawasaki is not from a country where education is unavailable. He could have gone to high school.
    2. He made a conscious decision to not continue his education beyond the minimum legal requirement, and came to America on his own to play baseball.

    Of course, what we really know about this kid is very minimal, almost to the point where we’re talking about a hypothetical situation.

    The Mets are giving him an opportunity to work and build a career (even if he doesn’t make it to the show, if he can hang around as a minor leaguer long enough there will be opportunities in coaching, scouting, etc). I don’t see how the Mets would be failing him if he happens to suffer an injury or doesn’t pan out.

    Yakamashii has pointed out that it’s possible to go back to high school in Japan. I’m happy to concede the point. So I’ll stick to my point that it’s tough but not impossible.

  10. Patrick
    John Brooks
    06/09/2009 at 4:59 pm Permalink

    I’m not confused John. Let me break it down again:

    Just to re-iterate it wasn’t my intention to say you were confused it was me that confused on what you were saying. My point really wasn’t that the Mets were failing the kid as a individual, it was the school system in Japan which allows kids to drop out after junior high that is failing the kid as a person(that’s my opinion, not neccessarily everyone’s here as I seen, but mine).

    With the Mets, there will hopefully be translators, etc to make him fit in to the new culture right away, though it will be harder for him to fit in playing in small cities in the U.S. instead of Japan away from the different culture, his family, friends, etc. He may be able to make a career for himself as a scout, executive, coach, etc in the U.S. or Japan, though its still of my opinion he’s failing himself by giving up on those years of education for a shot at unguaranteed success at a professional baseball career. What I’m saying is this wouldn’t been my decision and I don’t think it should be a situation that is conveyed to future players to drop out at age 16-17. It’s really a waste of an education, that’s all I got to say.

  11. Patrick
    simon
    06/09/2009 at 9:04 pm Permalink

    Many (most?) powerhouse baseball high schools in Japan are just like Div I football/basketball factory colleges in the States. Yeah, they are technically “student-athletes” but most (if not all) of the emphasis is on the sport part and hardly any effort and time are available for the education aspect.

    I’m not saying that this is good, just stating the facts that Japanese HS baseball and US college football/basketball are more like sports businesses than educational institutions at their most competitive levels.

  12. Patrick
    John Brooks
    09/09/2009 at 9:19 am Permalink

    Yeah, they are technically “student-athletes” but most (if not all) of the emphasis is on the sport part and hardly any effort and time are available for the education aspect.

    And in there justifies the point Kuenhart was mentioning above.

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