The rush of Asian players to the United States continues. This time a college prospect will cross the Pacific.
Japanese outlet Sports Nippon Annex reported on the 15th that “Hiroike Kosei, a right-handed pitcher with a top speed of 156 km/h who plays for Keio University in the Tokyo Big6 University Baseball League, is increasingly likely to sign with the New York Yankees.”
Major League Baseball has recently been actively recruiting Asian players. In Korea, many high school prospects such as Eom Jun-sang (Arizona), Park Chan-min (Philadelphia), Kwon Si-woo (Toronto), Jo Seong-cheol (Yankees), Nam Hyun-woo (Detroit) and Shin Hee-ju (Milwaukee) have signed or reached agreements with major league clubs, and in Japan top prospect Oda Shoki has declared his intention to move to the majors. Professional players including Roh Si-hwan (Hanwha), Won Tae-in and Koo Ja-wook (both Samsung), Sato Teruaki (Hanshin), Taira Kaima (Seibu) and Ito Hiromi (Nippon-Ham) are also attempting major league moves.
As a major league fever grips Asian baseball, Japanese college prospects are deciding to cross the ocean. Sports Nippon Annex said, “Hiroike will depart for the United States on the 29th and is scheduled to undergo a physical and other examinations at the Yankees’ facility in Florida.”
Hiroike is a right-handed pitcher with a top speed of 156 km/h and is the son of Hiroike Koji, the head of operations at the Seibu Lions. A graduate of Keio High School in Kanagawa Prefecture, he enrolled at Keio University and debuted in league play in the spring of his freshman year. This fall he posted a 2.88 ERA, fourth best in the league. His college league career totals are 29 appearances, 4 wins, 3 losses and a 3.12 ERA.
Despite solid performances, Hiroike went unselected in the Nippon Professional Baseball rookie draft. Sports Nippon Annex suggested this may have been because he was considering a challenge in Major League Baseball.
The Yankees, who tried to sign Ha Hyun-seung — who set a KBO League rookie signing bonus record at 1.6 billion won — are still actively scouting players in the Asian market. On the 12th, five Yankees officials visited the Keio University dormitory in Yokohama. At the time, Mario Garza, international scouting director, said, “We wanted to convey that we hold Hiroike in very high regard. He’s excellent both as a person and as a baseball player. He has talents and abilities that haven’t yet surfaced. We want to sign him as soon as possible,” expressing strong determination to recruit him. And it now appears likely to lead to an actual contract.
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