Update on North American Players in Japan, Part II: The B’s

Aarom Baldiris, Hanshin Tigers.  Baldaris is a 26 year old infielder from Venezuala, who got his start in the Mets and Rangers’ organizations.  He had a fine year at AA Binghamton in 2005 at age 22, but never proved he could hit AAA pitching.

Baldiris played largely as a back-up infielder for the Hanshin Tigers last year, playing in 77 games but getting only 132 AB’s and hitting an unimpressive .227.  This year, he is 0 for 15 in 11 games for the Tigers, but he is currently leading the Western League (there are two Japanese minor leagues: the Eastern and Western League; each Japanese major league team has only one farm team) with a .336 batting average.

Ricky Barrett, Tokyo Yakult Swallows.  Barrett is a 28 year old left-handed pitcher who spent his entire North American career in the Twins organization.  He had a fine year last year for AAA Rochester, posting a 3.21 ERA in 70 IP with 55 hits allowed, 38 BB’s and 81 K’s.

He may have been injured this year, because he has only pitched in 6 games and 8.1 innings for the Swallows so far.  He’s 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA.

Tony Blanco, Chunichi Dragons.  He’s another player who slipped under my radar, because he only played in AA ball last year (for the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League).  However, he’s a 27 year old and is having a terrific rookie year in Japan.

Blanco is currently hitting .288 and leading the Central League in HR’s.  He played mostly 3B in the U.S., but appears to be playing mostly 1B in Japan.

Blanco was once a legitimate prospect in the U.S. and got a cup of coffee with the Nationals in 2005 at age 23.  Injuries then derailed his career, until he led the Texas League last year with a .973 OPS.

Usually, Japanese teams don’t go after American players without significant AAA experience, but whoever convinced the Dragons to sign Blanco must have known something.  At his age, Blanco has a good shot at a long and successful career in Japan.

Hiram Bocachica, Saitama Seibu Lions. A’s fans will remember Bocachica, who played at the A’s AAA team in Sacramento from ’05 to ’07 and received numerous cups of coffee from the major league team.  He’s a classic 4-A player, who had a great year at AAA in 200o at age 24, and then spent the next 8 seasons bouncing back and forth between AAA and the majors.  Despite playing major league games in eight different seasons, he only managed 535 major league at-bats.  Although he only hit .215, he did hit 28 doubles and 15 HR’s.

His real break came when the A’s traded Bocachica to the Padres in 2007, in a deal that looked an awful lot like a sort of late pay-back for the Jack Cust trade, this time when the Padres were desparate for another outfielder.  Bocachica got 63 AB’s with the Padres that year, and didn’t do much, but it was enough for the Lions to come calling.

Bocachica had some injuries last year, but ended up hitting 20 HR’s for the Lions in only 239 AB’s.  This year, he’s hitting only .243 but has 12 HR’s in 140 AB’s.  Japanese teams want power out of their North American players, so I have to assume that Bocachica’s job is safe as long as he keeps hitting the long ball.  He’s 33 this year, so we’ll see how many years he has left.

Jason Botts, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  He’s a 28 year old 1Bman from Paso Robles, CA.  He was in the Rangers’ organization and got cups of coffee every year from 2005 through 2008.  In 282 career major league AB’s, he has a .669 OPS.

Botts went to Japan last year mid-way through the season and played O.K. there, hitting 5 HRs and 9 doubles in 142 AB’s with a .750 OPS.  Botts hasn’t played much for the Ham Fighters this year.  Instead, he’s mainly played for their minor league team.  He has hit very well down there, but appears to be having some injury problems as he only has 57 AB’s this year at both levels of professional Japanese baseball.

Given his age, the Ham Fighters shouldn’t give up on him too soon.

Craig Brazell, Hanshin Tigers.  I’ve written about Brazell before.  After a solid year with the Seibu Lions in which he hit only .234 but slugged 27 HRs, he either wasn’t offered a contract in Japan or wanted to return to the U.S., because the Baltimore Orioles gave him a Spring Training invite which he accepted.  Once Spring Training was over, the Orioles hadn’t offered him a job, so he ended up playing for the St. Paul Saints in the Independent A American Association.  He was hitting a ridiculous .581 there, when the Tigers finally gave up on Kevin Mench and went looking another American power hitter.

Brazell is off to a great start with Hanshin.  In ten games, he’s hitting .306 with 5 HRs.  I hope he’s learned his lesson and decides to make a career of it in Japan.  He’s 29 this year, and his Japanese League numbers in 2008 simply weren’t good enough for any major league team to take seriously.  If he has truly mastered the Japanese game, he can make a lot of money and be a big star there.

Gary Burnham, Jr., Chiba Lotte Marines. He’s a 34 year old 1Bman who played many years in the Phillies’ organization.  While he was a pretty good hitter, he didn’t have the power to be a major league 1Bman.  He put in time in the Independent A Atlantic League in ’05 and part of ’06 and left the U.S. to play in Taiwan last year.  He hit .323 there with 10 HRs and 23 doubles in 266 AB’s and was signed by the Marines for 2009.

In 36 games, he hit .247 with little power in 81 AB’s, and the Marines sent him down to their minor league team.  He’s not hitting there either, so his Japanese career is probably in jeopardy.

Adrian Burnside, Yomiuri Giants.  Burnside is a 32 year old left-handed pitcher who played for years in the Angels, Pirates, Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres organizations without ever making it to the Show.  His best minor league season was probably at AAA Syracuse in 2005, when he pitched in 50 games with a 2.98 ERA and 45 K’s and only 16 BB’s in 57.1 innings.

He went over to Yomiuri in 2008 after a not particularly impressive 2007 in AAA.  Nevertheless, he pitched very well last year, going 5-3 with a 3.48 ERA in 75 IP with 47 K’s and 18 BB’s.

Burnside is apparently hurt this year, because although he remains on Yomiuri’s roster, he has not pitched in a game yet this year.

For what it’s worth, every player in NPB with a last name starting with “B” is a North American (or South American in the case of Baldiris).

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