Koshien Pitcher Review!

I happened to stumble upon YouTube vids of pitchers that will be participating in the Spring Kōshien.

Please don't rip me in my analysis. I have little idea what to look for, so I just make my best estimation.

Imamura (Seihou Koukou - Nagasaki - RHP)
Seems to have a high 80's fastball along with a 70's slider. Control isn't that great, so it appears he'll have to depend on his defense to keep them in games.

Imamiya (Meihou Koukou - Oita - RHP)
Definitely not an overpowering pitcher. Low 80's fastball, high 70's slider and a 60's slow curve tries to keep the batters off their timing. However, while his control on the off-speed is good, his fastballs are not so. If he doesn't have control on his off-speed pitches, it could be a long day for Meihou.

Shimooki (Kousei Gakuin - Aomori - RHP)
A 3/4 delivery seems to give Shimooki a mid 80's fastball that tails back towards a right-hander (not so good). He does have a slider and something like a 1-7 curve that are in the low 70's. His control is pretty good, but the tailing fastball could pose issues.

Shiramura (Keiou Koukou - Kanagawa - RHP)
Apparently, he's the 2nd half pitcher in their system although he wears the ace number. There's good reason though. He has a tendency to either release early of open his body (not sure which) that can make the ball fly either high or up and in to a right-hander. The delivery also appears to give a fastball that can be as fast as the high 80's, but as slow as high 70's. He has an off-speed pitch in the 60's. Not sure what to make of him.

Akiyama (Saijyou Koukou - Ehime - RHP)
Wow. I'm impressed by Akiyama. First of all he stands at a not so small 6'-1". Nice smooth delivery consistently hits around 135 kph (low 80's). With a good 12-6 curve in the 60's, and I think one other pitch I can't discern, he can make short work of batters. Really depended a lot on his off-speed late in the game, and wasn't as accurate with his fastball - so if they have a servicable backup Saijyou could go far. He's not that bad with the stick either. Good low ball hitter, can get around to hit the inside pitches, very patient.

Nishifuji (Mukawa Koukou - Hokkaido - RHP)
Another big pitcher (5'-11"), however he doesn't have the same control as Akiyama. In fact, he's all over the map. He can hit 90 with his fastball, but it doesn't do him any good if he can't locate it.

Nakano (PL Gakuen - Osaka - LHP)
A bit smaller in size to our last 2 pitchers, Nakano brings us back down to the other side of the spectrum. A fastball that just touches 80 with off-speed pitches around 70 means he certainly won't overpower the batters. He does have some control issues to boot, so PL will need offense and some good defense behind Nakano if they want to advance far.

Onoda (Waseda Jitsugyou - Tokyo - RHP)
A 1st year, he's the 1st half of the Waseda staff along with Suzuki. A fastball in the 135 kph range with an off-speed at 116 kph (low 70's) with above-average control bodes well. Tact that he's slotted as their cleanup hitter and can drive the ball doesn't hurt either.

That's all I can find for now. If I can find more, I'll post it here and bump it up.

Iwamoto (Nanyou Kougyou - Yamaguchi - RHP)
Hm. Not much here on Iwamoto. Plus he's wearing the backup pitcher #10 (unless they're giving the ace #1 to a senior). Mostly fastballs are displayed here.