A year ago, almost no one had reason to expect Chiba Lotte Marines left-hander Yoshihisa Naruse would be one of the top players in Japanese baseball for 2007. After all, the 21-year-old pitcher had turned in a mediocre 5-5 record the previous season.
However, the guy seemingly came out of nowhere to post an unbelievable 16-1 mark with a 1.82 ERA that helped take his team to within one game of the Japan Series.
With a new season about to begin, you have to wonder which Japanese player will be this year's Naruse.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.