On Saturday, the remaining names on Japan’s 30-man World Baseball Classic team were reported by multiple media outlets. Players who were named among the original 12 on Jan. 6 are identified by their numbers.
The two obvious omissions are Kodai Senga, who was named to the 2017 all-tournament team, and Japan’s best hitting catcher, Tomoya Mori. Mori said he would focus on having his best season possible with his new club, the Orix Buffaloes.
Ironically, Masataka Yoshida is taking part and going into his first MLB season without taking part in preseason with the Red Sox. The irony is that Mori’s move to Orix as a free agent was the condition the Buffaloes were needing to meet before allowing Yoshida to move via the posting system.
There are only four players listed as outfielders, but Hawks infielder Ukyo Shuto is a glove wiz in the outfield as well as a solid infield defender. Kuriyama has said he wants a well-balanced team, and he’s got one. Left field is going to be mediocre defensively with either Kensuke Kondo or Yoshida.
It sure looks like Kuriyama is set to go with multiple starting pitchers in each game with a staff currently made up of 10 starters and five relievers.
| Pitchers | Team | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Yu Darvish | San Diego Padres | 11 |
| Shosei Togo | Yomiuri Giants | 12 |
| Yuki Matsui | Rakuten Eagles | 13 |
| Roki Sasaki | Lotte Marines | 14 |
| Taisei Ota | Yomiuri Giants | 15 |
| Shohei Ohtani | Los Angeles Angels | 16 |
| Hiromi Ito | Nippon Ham Fighters | 17 |
| Yoshinobu Yamamoto | Orix Buffaloes | 18 |
| Ryoji Kuribayashi | Hiroshima Carp | 20 |
| Shota Imanaga | DeNA BayStars | 21 |
| Atsuki Yuasa | Hanshin Tigers | 22 |
| Yuki Udagawa | Orix Buffaloes | 26 |
| Hiroto Takahashi | Chunichi Dragons | 28 |
| Hiroya Miyagi | Orix Buffaloes | 29 |
| Keiji Takahashi | Yakult Swallows | 47 |
| Catchers | Team | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Takuya Kai | SoftBank Hawks | 10 |
| Takumi Oshiro | Yomiuri Giants | 24 |
| Yuhei Nakamura | Yakult Swallows | 27 |
| Infielders | Team | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Tetsuto Yamada | Yakult Swallows | 1 |
| Sosuke Genda | Seibu Lions | 2 |
| Shugo Maki | DeNA BayStars | 3 |
| Takumu Nakano | Hanshin Tigers | 7 |
| Kazuma Okamoto | Yomiuri Giants | 25 |
| Hotaka Yamakawa | Seibu Lions | 33 |
| Munetaka Murakami | Yakult Swallows | 55 |
| Outfielders | Team | No. |
|---|---|---|
| Kensuke Kondo | SoftBank Hawks | 8 |
| Ukyo Shuto | SoftBank Hawks | 9 |
| Lars Nootbaar | St. Louis Cardinals | 23 |
| Masataka Yoshida | Boston Red Sox | 34 |
| Seiya Suzuki | Chicago Cubs | 51 |
