The Seattle Mariners took on the Cincinnati Reds this past Monday in a meaningless Spring Training game, that attracted the eyes of many in the baseball world for it was everyones first look at Japanese import Yusei Kikuchi. Japanese media could be seen throughout the ball park and the announcers even compared the buzz as a similar feeling to when Ichiro Suzuki made spring training debut with the Mariners. After striking out on Ohtani last season, the Mariners are hoping that Kikuchi can be a lock down 2nd Starter and on Monday he provided a glimpse in to the potential that the Mariners saw when they signed the Southpaw to a 4 year deal on January 2nd.

The Outing

In his first inning of work, Yusei made quick work of the top of the Reds lineup, retiring Senzel, Votto, and Puig in order, and had Votto completely fooled on a curveball for the strikeout. The first thing that stood out was Kikuchi’s ability to deceive hitters with his delivery which effectively hides the ball behind his back leg and allows his pitches to quickly sneak up on his hitters, due to the deceptive release point. This was clearly evident on his strikeout of Votto, who was only able to muster up an ugly looking check swing on a nasty 12-6 curveball. Kikuchi was sitting at 92-93 on his fastball, and had noticeable cut on his fastballs. His Curveball was sitting around 72-73, and looked sharped however he did leave a few elevated. He needed just 13 pitches to get through the first.

Kikuchi’s 2nd inning of work didn’t start as smooth as the first, as after a lead-off walk to Suarez, he induced a double play grounder to short that was promptly bobbled and thrown away by Beckham which brought runners to first and second. Farmer followed that up with a single to Centre which brought in the Reds 1st run, and made it runners on the corners with nobody out. However, Kikuchi was able to rebound and get another double play ball, but a run was able to score on the play. Kikuchi finished off his outing by inducing a measly ground ball to short ending his line at 2IP, 2R, 1 K, and 1 BB. (Not sure how many will be credited as earned)

Conclusion

Though the 2nd inning of work wasn’t as smooth sailing as the 1st inning, Kikuchi showed good poise on the mound when in a jam and was able to limit the damage after a few defensive miscues. The curveball looked to have good movement on it, however he’s not going to get a way with that many elevated off speed pitches as the season gets underway. Yusei also had solid command and movement of his fastball that was consistently humming in the low 90’s and he also showcased an effective cutter that flashed in the upper 80’s. Yusei, like all pitchers this early into spring, definitely has things to work on, however this first appearance gave a good first look into all the hype surrounding Yusei, and a taste of what Mariner fans hope will be a staple in their rotation for the foreseeable future.