CAPITALES' JAPANESE BRANCH REMAINS ACTIVE
The Japanese network will remain active next season with the Québec Capitales, signing two pitchers from the Land of the Rising Sun. Manager Patrick Scalabrini took advantage of his presence at a tryout camp held in Kugamaya this weekend to recruit left-hander Masatoshi Sakurai and right-hander Ryusuke Ito.
The two 28 and 24-year-old gunners will follow in the footsteps of reliever Ryo Kohigashi, who provided valuable service to the triple champions of the Frontier League of independent baseball last year, while becoming one of the most popular players among fans.
Sakurai's story is similar to Kohigashi's, as he followed the same path to get his contract. The 28-year-old left-hander played for Drummondville's Brock Nitrite Lambert in 2024 in the Québec Major League Baseball (senior), in addition to receiving a one-day invitation to pitch in the Capitales' bullpen, just to see his arsenal up close. Kohagahi had done all that a year earlier.
And like Kohigashi, Sakurai dominated the QBML, going 9-3 with a 1.02 ERA. His 131 strikeouts in 89 innings also caught Scalabrini's attention.
"He led the league in wins and strikeouts. He did enough to intrigue me. He came to America looking for a job and he was dominant. I respect that and I think he deserves his chance. He'll come fill a rookie role with us," explained the Capitales manager.
A right-handed pitcher on the side
For his part, right-hander Ryusuke Ito caught the manager's attention with the way he threw the ball sideways.
"He brings a dimension that we don't have in our lineup. He has great potential to play an interesting role with us," he said of the 24-year-old.
The reliever had a 2.70 ERA in 2024, recording 27 strikeouts in 26 innings with the semi-pro Gunma Diamond Pegasus in the Baseball Challenge League.
This tryout camp organized by the president of the Kumagaya Bears, a BCL team located two hours north of Tokyo, brought together about thirty independent and amateur players under the eyes of the Capitales manager, baseball players from Taiwan and Brock Nitrite Lambert executives. A teammate of Ryo Kohigashi in Drummondville two years ago, Chikari Igami played the role of guide and translator.
"The Japanese baseball network is well developed, which explains why there aren't many players from there who play here. But we think we can be an interesting option for those who play in their independent baseball. Our goal is to turn over all the rocks to find players who can help us. We want to be pioneers with the Japanese network, as we have been in many cases, especially with the Cubans and the Panamanians," adds Scalabrini, who already plans to return to Japan next year.
