Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Buffaloes at Hawks

Orix Buffaloes (15-28-3) at Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (27-19-1)

Friday, August 14th, 1:00 AM EDT

Projected Starters

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: RHP Nao Higashihama (2-1, 3.02 ERA)

Orix Buffaloes: LHP Sachiya Yamasaki (2-1, 4.40 ERA)

Game Preview

The Hawks and the Buffaloes are walking through opposite runs of form at the moment, with the Hawks riding a four-game winning streak and the Buffaloes stumbling to the tune of a six-game losing run. This has been reflected in the standings as well, with the SoftBank Hawks sitting at the top of the Pacific League standings while the Buffaloes at the bottom of the same table. When it comes to the pitching matchup, this will be a duel of two pitchers with 2-1 records as Nao Higashihama will start for the Hawks and Sachiya Yamasaki, a lefty, will get the nod for the Buffaloes. Higashihama gets the nod for having a superior ERA than Yamasaki, but this is a game where offenses could – and should – dictate the tone of the game.

Injuries

Andrew Albers - Out - Undisclosed

7/30 2:57 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Albers on Wednesday, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Though an explanation for Albers' removal from the roster isn't known, it's likely the result of an injury rather than any dissatisfaction the club may have had with his performance. The 34-year-old southpaw had fared respectably through his first six starts, going 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA and 29:9 K:BB over 33.1 innings.

Alfredo Despaigne - Day-To-Day - Not Injury Related

7/7 10:42 PM IST - Despaigne (not injury related) is scheduled to arrive in Japan on July 19 and will then quarantine for 14 days before reporting to the Hawks, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Due to travel restrictions in their native Cuba, Despaigne and infielder Yurisbel Gracial have thus far been unable to join the Hawks, and it appears their season debuts won't be coming at any point in July. Even once they arrive in Japan and complete their quarantine periods, Despaigne and Gracial will likely both require rehab games in the minors to get their timing right at the plate before SoftBank elects to add either player to the active roster. In his sixth NPB season and third with the Hawks in 2019, Despaigne slashed .259/.355/.520 with 36 home runs, 88 RBI and 61 runs in 519 plate appearances.

Yurisbel Gracial - Out - Not Injury Related

7/7 10:40 PM IST - Gracial (not injury related) is scheduled to arrive in Japan on July 19 and will then quarantine for 14 days before reporting to the Hawks, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Due to travel restrictions in their native Cuba, Gracial and outfielder Alfredo Despaigne have thus far been unable to join the Hawks, and it appears their season debuts won't be coming at any point in July. Even once they arrive in Japan and complete their quarantine periods, Gracial and Despaigne will likely both require rehab games in the minors to get their timing right at the plate before SoftBank elects to add either player to the active roster. In his second season with the Hawks in 2019, Gracial slashed .319/.365/.595 with 28 home runs, 68 RBI and 61 runs scored over 410 plate appearances.

Yuya Hasegawa - Out - Side

7/7 2:47 PM IST - Hasegawa was removed from the Hawks' active roster Tuesday due to a right side bruise that is expected to keep him sidelined for approximately three weeks. The left fielder had a .400 OBP with one RBI and nine strikeouts over his first 11 games, so his loss is a significant one for the Hawks. The 35-year-old will likely be sidelined until at least late July with the injury.

Motoki Higa - Out - Biceps

7/9 4:26 AM IST - Higa was removed from the Buffaloes roster Wednesday due to an injury to his left biceps muscle, Full-Count.jp reports. Higa is a right-handed pitcher for Orix, so while his biceps issue appears fairly concerning, it's somewhat of a relief that the injury is to his non-throwing arm. The 37-year-old has been a trusted member of the Buffaloes bullpen so far during the young season, appearing in eight games and recording four holds while having yet to allow a run.

Shoki Katsumata - Out - Orbital

7/23 1:17 AM IST - Katsumata was diagnosed Wednesday with a orbital floor fracture of his right eye, Full-Count.jp reports. Katsumata sustained the injury after being hit in the eye during a defensive drill with the Buffaloes' minor-league affiliate. The 23-year-old appeared in three games with Orix earlier this season, going 0-for-4 at the dish in those contests.

Matt Moore - Out - Calf

7/9 4:41 AM IST - Moore is expected to miss about six weeks after he was diagnosed with a left calf muscle damage following an MRI on Wednesday, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Moore will miss significant time for the second consecutive season due to a lower-body injury, as he was limited to just two starts with MLB's Detroit Tigers in 2019 due to right knee surgery. After making the jump to Japan over the winter, Moore looked good in his first two turns through the Hawks rotation, collecting 14 strikeout over 10 innings. He'll now be on the shelf until the second half of August after picking up the calf injury in a workout Tuesday.

Aderlin Rodriguez - Out - Forearm

7/31 1:35 AM IST - The Buffaloes deactivated Rodriguez on Thursday after he suffered a left forearm contusion in Wednesday's game against the Fighters, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Rodriguez was credited with a game-tying RBI when he was hit by the pitch, but it came at a costly price. While Rodriguez was fortunate that X-rays cleared him of any structural damage to his forearm, he'll still be shut down for a few days while he looks to shake off the bruise. Rodriguez is batting .223 with five home runs and 19 RBI across 142 plate appearances on the season.

Dennis Sarfate - Out - Not Injury Related

7/7 2:10 AM IST - Sarfate joined the Hawks on Saturday after completing a 14-day quarantine following his recent return from the United States, Yahoo Sports Japan reports. Though Sarfate is back with the Hawks, he'll have to get his arm reconditioned again after the layoff before he's deemed ready to contribute out of the bullpen. The Hawks are expected to assign Sarfate to the minors, where he'll make an appearance or two before being registered to the big-league roster.

Rick van den Hurk - Out - Back

7/17 4:47 AM IST - Van den Hurk (1-2) allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out zero over 2.2 innings as he was charged with the loss Thursday against the Buffaloes. After a dominant season debut, things have gone downhill for van den Hurk over his last three starts, and he's now been charged with losses in back-to-back starts. He failed to record any strikeouts Thursday while allowing seven baserunners. The right-hander carries a 7.29 ERA and 1.43 WHIP over 21 innings this year.

Taisuke Yamaoka - Out - Oblique

6/27 9:58 AM IST - Yamaoka (oblique) was diagnosed with muscle damage and will likely miss some time as a result of his injury from Friday's loss to the Marines, Baseball King reports. The right-hander exited Friday's start after just three pitches after experiencing left flank discomfort, and he underwent an MRI on Friday that revealed "muscle damage of the left internal oblique muscle." Yamaoka will be sidelined until at least July 7, but it's unclear whether he'll have to miss any additional time afterwards.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks Expected Lineup

1. Seiji Uebayashi

2. Ryoya Kurihara

3. Yuki Yanagita

4. Wladimir Balentien

5. Yuya Hasegawa

6. Nobuhiro Matsuda

7. Kenta Imamiya

8. Takuya Kai

9. Taisei Makihara

Orix Buffaloes Expected Lineup

1. Takahiro Okada

2. Aderlin Rodriguez

3. Masataka Yoshida

4. Adam Jones

5. Keita Nakagawa

6. Koji Ohshiro

7. Kenya Wakatsuki

8. Ryoichi Adachi

9. Shunta Gotoh

Top Picks From Each Team

Yuki Yanagita, Hawks: Yanagita has 14 home runs with 35 RBI, but his game is much more than power and run production – he is also hitting a strong .384 with a .498 on-base percentage, meaning he gets on base one way or the other in almost half of his plate appearances. Undoubtedly, he is the motor that keeps the offense going.

Adam Jones, Buffaloes: Jones does not own the honor of being the top hitter, as Takahiro Okada is now leading the team with six home runs as opposed to Jones' five, but the former MLB veteran is a good bet for sustained production due to his track record. He costs 12 credits, but he is definitively worth the risk.

Captaincy Options

1. Yuki Yanagita
2. Adam Jones
3. Wladimir Balentien
4. Seiji Uebayashi

Dream11 Team

P – Nao Higashihama

C – Torai Fushimi

IF – Kenta Imaniya

IF – Shuhei Fukuda

OF – Yuki Yanagita (C)

OF – Adam Jones (VC)

OF – Wladimir Balentien

OF – Seiji Uebayashi

OF – Akira Nakamura