Established in 2004, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles may be making their maiden voyage into the postseason but manager Katsuya Nomura's club has the pieces for a successful run.
Pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma and Masahiro Tanaka are the stars on the mound, while Takeshi Yamasaki and Fernando Seguignol are capable of making noise at the plate.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have been here before but are stumbling into the playoffs. Pitcher Toshiya Sugiuchi is a clear-cut star but the supporting cast is thin. Combined with a shaky offense, the Hawks may face an uphill battle to knock off the upstart Eagles.