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.