Today: FA Prospect Kenshin Kawakami
Kenshin Kawakami is a righthanded starter for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League.
The Rookie of the Year in 1998, Kawamaki has grown to be one a handful of dominant starting pitchers in the Japanese leagues today.
Kawakami was the Central League's Most Valuable Player in 2004 and is a two-time Sawamura award winner as the best overall pitcher in Japan. Kawamaki also led the Dragons to a league championship last season. He will be a free agent at the end of 2008 season, and has already expressed his strong desire to try his skills in the United States, following in the footsteps of other leading Japanese pitchers like Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima.
| Yr | Tm | Age | Lvl | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SH | SV | IP | ER |
| 1998 | Chunichi | 23 | Japan | 14 | 6 | 2.57 | 26 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 161 | 48 |
| 1999 | Chunichi | 24 | Japan | 8 | 9 | 4.44 | 29 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 162 | 84 |
| 2000 | Chunichi | 25 | Japan | 2 | 3 | 4.77 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 32 |
| 2001 | Chunichi | 26 | Japan | 6 | 10 | 3.72 | 26 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 145 | 61 |
| 2002 | Chunichi | 27 | Japan | 12 | 6 | 2.35 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 187 | 54 |
| 2003 | Chunichi | 28 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 3.02 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 22 |
| 2004 | Chunichi | 29 | Japan | 17 | 7 | 3.32 | 27 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 192 | 72 |
| 2005 | Chunichi | 30 | Japan | 11 | 8 | 3.74 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 180 | 75 |
| 2006 | Chunichi | 31 | Japan | 17 | 7 | 2.51 | 29 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 215 | 60 |
| 2007 | Chunichi | 32 | Japan | 12 | 8 | 3.56 | 25 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 167 | 66 |
Kawakami is a crafty and talented pitcher with big-game guile. His fastball is not overpowering (it tops out around 90mph) but it does have great sink, and he uses a nasty cutter with deadly effectiveness. He also throws a plus curve ball on any count, which can be devastating when it gets good bite.
Kawakami has expressed a preference for the Boston Red Sox, which may impact his negotiations in the off-season.
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