One of the more interesting young players in Japanese baseball this season and in years to come should be Hanshin Tigers rookie catcher Ryutaro Umeno. The 24-year-old native of Fukuoka Prefecture was Hanshin's No. 4 choice in the autumn 2013 amateur draft but got some playing time during last month's exhibition season and made the Tigers' Opening Day roster.
He did not start but played behind the plate in Hanshin's first four games of the regular season and got his first hit in the third game last Sunday against the archrival Yomiuri Giants at Tokyo Dome. The Tigers are hoping he can mature quickly and become the first-stringer at a position that has been a weak spot on the club since the retirement of Kenji Johjima two years ago.
Tigers American pitcher Randy Messenger formed a battery with Umeno twice during the preseason and says, "I love pitching to him. He has a great arm and is good at blocking pitches in the dirt. He's also got some power as a hitter." That is something Hanshin has lacked sorely in recent years. The most home runs any catcher hit on the team last season was three.