Former phenom Fujinami ready to carve his own path with A’s

The A's are expecting the hard-throwing Fujinami to start games this season after 10 up-and-down years with the Hanshin Tigers.

MESA, Ariz. — Shintaro Fujinami remembers the first time he faced Shohei Ohtani.

It was a battle that the Japanese right-hander lost like so many other major league pitchers in recent memory: by giving up a towering home run.

“That was like, ‘Wow, he’s a great hitter,’” Fujinami said. “I was impressed.”

But their clash occurred long before either of them managed to break into MLB, during the National High School Baseball Championship of Japan, which is known as “Summer Koshien” to those who have ever witnessed the famed annual event.

Since their first-ever meeting in 2012, Ohtani and Fujinami have taken starkly different paths to MLB, even after both were selected in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball Draft.

Ohtani has become an undeniable face of the sport since making his highly-anticipated debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 following a successful five-year career in the NPB, culminating in American League MVP honors in 2021. Fujinami, however, struggled to live up to much of the acclaim he received out of high school that pegged him as a better prospect than Ohtani, leading to an inconsistent 10-season run with the Hanshin Tigers.

But now, the 6-foot-6 righty has finally made it to the show, joining the Oakland A’s on a one-year, $3.25 million deal in January, an opportunity that will likely lead to even more matchups against his high school foe.

“No doubt about it. I’m very excited,” Fujinami, 28, said during his introductory press conference on Jan. 17. “We’re the same age. Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the world. For the Japanese fans, it’ll be very exciting for us to play against each other. I’m very excited.”

Before his time comes to face Ohtani, though, Fujinami must prove himself among his peers this spring.

He’s already off to a good start. At least, according to A’s manager Mark Kotsay.

“I have not seen him (throw) live,” Kotsay said Wednesday. “Our pitching coach Scott Emerson has seen him live and his words, I don’t want to directly quote him, but it was very impressive stuff.”

A’s pitchers going through some PFPs, here’s Fujinami. pic.twitter.com/fQHIkbSzgV

— Cole Bradley (@colebradley01) February 15, 2023

But even as Fujinami has wowed with his arm, hurling a fastball that averaged 96.3 mph last season paired with a slider and a splitter that is considered his strikeout pitch, he’s already been forced to make quick adjustments in order to become acquainted with his new surroundings, which he noted ahead of the A’s first official workout of spring training.

“In Japan, I feel like it’s a lot more team activities, like team stretch, team throw, team defense,” Fujinami said through Japanese interpreter Issei Yamada. “Here, it’s more individualized. It’s a team sport, but it’s more individualized here.

“In Japan, your team activities are too long that your individual time is not much. Here you can focus on what to work on. At the same time, I feel more responsibility on myself. I have to be in charge of myself.”

While most of his new teammates have yet to formally introduce themselves to him, a number of them noted how they have already seen Fujinami making adjustments to fit in with his new contingent nearly 6,000 miles away from his homeland. It’s something that veteran right-handed pitcher Drew Rucinski, who signed a one-year contract with the A’s over the offseason, can relate to after serving a four-year stint with the NC Dinos of the KBO.

“I have a lot of respect for guys that come over here and have to deal with that,” Rucinski said. “I get it now, it’s hard. It’s not the easiest thing to come into an atmosphere that you’re not comfortable with. But he seems to be fitting in well and really enjoying the time here.

“It’s cool to see his experience and different ideas of things, and I think it will go well for him.”

Fujinami’s teammates not only seemed pleased with their first impressions of him, but excited about the chance to absorb as much as they can from him and his unique path to the A’s.

Following a standout rookie season with the Tigers in 2013, in which he posted a 2.75 ERA across 137.2 innings pitched, Fujinami’s performance slowly began to decline. His walk rate jumped from 3.7 walks per nine innings to 5.7 in 2017, fluctuating for much of the next three years before reaching a career-worst 6.3 mark in 2021. As a result of his struggles, he was often switched from reliever to starter for the latter part of his NPB career.

In 10 seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, Fujinami posted a 3.41 ERA across 994.1 innings pitched.

“The way his baseball career has taken him is a lot different than a lot of ours,” left-handed pitcher Kirby Snead said. “So I think just learning from what he knows, what he’s learned, that’s going to help everyone. The more knowledge you can bring in about the game, I think it’s going to help out a lot of us, especially for all the young guys, myself included.”

Fujinami is expected to battle for a spot in Oakland’s rotation this season along with Rucinski, Sears, Ken Waldichuk and a number of others looking to join returners Paul Blackburn and James Kaprielian. But even as Fujinami continues to navigate through uncharted territory this spring, Kotsay is confident that his course will lead to the role both parties hoped he would reach.

“He wants to fit in. He’s made that known,” Kotsay said. “In terms of fitting into the rotation, he’s got every opportunity to fit into this rotation and we want him in this rotation. He’s got a history of having success in Japan, and I don’t think he’d be here without that. The talent is there, the stuff is there, now he’s just got to go and compete.”