When Wade LeBlanc arrived in Japan in 2015, he knew very little about the Saitama Seibu Lions, the team he would be pitching for, and even less about his new teammates – with one notable exception.



Takayuki Kishi was the ace of the staff, and it wasn’t even much of a discussion. An All-Star in 2014, Kishi was coming off a season in which he went 13-4 with a 2.51 ERA. But it quickly became apparent to LeBlanc — and to opposing hitters in Japan’s Pacific League – that a different Seibu pitcher was ready to wrestle that ace status away from Kishi: 24-year-old left-hander Yusei Kikuchi.



“The life he had on his fastball was incredible … and his breaking stuff was really solid,” LeBlanc said of Kikuchi. “But the fastball … he just bulldozed people. He had so much power and conviction behind it, he knew he was going to beat guys.”



In a strange twist of fate, LeBlanc and Kikuchi will be teammates...