- Full name Ryo Kumagai
- Born 08/22/1979 in Tokyo, Japan
- Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 190 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Tohoku Fukushi University
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Even as the ownership of the club was changing hands, the Red Sox didn't stop working in the Far East. They signed Kumagai out of Tokyo's Tohoku Fukushi University for $450,000 in mid-January 2002. Kumagai pitched 9 1/3 scoreless innings and saved the title game as Tohoku Fukushi--also the alma mater of Kazuhiro Sasaki--won the Hawaii International Baseball Championship last August, and he had a shutout streak of 41 innings in college last fall. A potential 2004 Japanese Olympian before he signed with Boston, he's a submariner reminiscent of Byung-Hyun Kim. Kumagai throws 91-93 mph and also has a reverse slider that sinks and breaks in on righthanders. Hitters have a difficult time picking up his pitches, though he sometimes struggles to keep a consistent release point. Kumagai is very intelligent and figures to learn English quickly. He could make his pro debut as high as Double-A.
