debutyear statyear statvalue birth_date team image_size number image statlabel debutteam name throws caption debutleague birth_place debutdate bats statleague position article_title
2011 2013 season 17-8 2.81 173 17 june 1991 saitama seibu lions 240px 16 yusei kikuchi on august 11 , 2011.jpg win-loss era strikeouts saitama seibu lions yusei kikuchi left kikuchi with the saitama seibu lions npb morioka , iwate , japan june 12 left npb pitcher yusei kikuchi

yusei kikuchi

in october 2009 , kikuchi sparked controversy when it was announced that he was considering bypassing the amateur draft in japan for the npb and signing with an american major league baseball club .
under major league baseball 's current rules , kikuchi would not have been subject to the mlb draft and instead be declared a free agent , free to sign with any american team he wanted .
the texas rangers were one of several teams interested in signing kikuchi , as well as the boston red sox .
japanese news service reports also identified scouts from the los angeles dodgers , seattle mariners , new york mets , cleveland indians , chicago cubs , san francisco giants , detroit tigers , atlanta braves and new york yankees watching kikuchi in tournaments .
all 12 npb teams were also reportedly interested in signing the pitcher .
hanamaki higashi manager hiroshi sasaki submitted paperwork to the high school baseball federation in iwate prefecture on kikuchi 's behalf , stating his desire to turn pro .
the move opened the way for professional teams to make contact with kikuchi in a race to secure his services .
with the submission of the paperwork , kikuchi was open to be named in the japanese baseball draft , which began on october 29 , 2009 .
he was expected to be named as a no. 1 draft pick by several japanese clubs .
npb had asked that kikuchi not receive an offer from any major league clubs before japan 's draft , in order to even the chances for japanese teams , who are not allowed to make offers before the draft .
kikuchi helped hanamaki higashi to a runnerup finish at the national high school invitational in april and to the semifinals in the national championship in august .
kikuchi had reportedly expressed a preference to play in the united states and even visited in october .
kikuchi would have been the first japanese high school player to bypass the domestic amateur draft to come to mlb .
by staying , players lock themselves into nine seasons before they 're eligible for free agency .
they can leave only if their japanese team allows them to enter the posting system in which mlb teams can bid for the right to negotiate with them .
furthermore , leaving for an american team bans players from japanese leagues for three years .
kikuchi held talks with the red sox , dodgers , rangers , and giants on monday , october 19 , and talks with the yankees , mets , and mariners the following day .
on october 25 , 2009 , he reportedly decided to stay in japan and enter the draft instead of playing in the united states .
on november 20 , kikuchi signed a pro deal with the saitama seibu lions ; the deal included a 100 million yen -lrb- about $ 1 million -rrb- signing bonus , a 15 million yen -lrb- $ 150,000 -rrb- first year salary , and 50 million yen -lrb- $ 500,000 -rrb- in performance bonuses .
