APRIL 16, 2023 • MLB.COM
Fujinami on right track in 1st strong start for A's OAKLAND -- Given his sporadic flashes of brilliance since joining the A’s, there has been much intrigue as to what it might look like on a d...
Takes loss despite quality start Fujinami (0-3) took the loss Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over six innings during a 3-2 loss to the Mets. He struck out five.
Impact Aside from a solo shot from Pete Alonso in the fourth, Fujinami was sharp through six innings. However, he surrendered a leadoff homer from Mark Canha in the seventh and was pulled after walking the next batter. The walk ended up coming around to score on a go-ahead, RBI double by Brandon Nimmo, so three runs were charged to Fujinami. Despite picking up a third straight loss, Fujinami took a major step in the right direction Saturday and will look to build of his success during his next start, which is tentatively scheduled during Oakland's upcoming three-game set in Texas.
APRIL 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Struggles again in loss Fujinami (0-2) took the loss Saturday, allowing five runs on three hits and four walks with one strikeout over 4.1 innings against Tampa Bay.
Impact The first three innings went well for Fujinami as he kept the red-hot Rays lineup off the board. Things fell apart from there, as he gave up a two-run single to Isaac Paredes in the fourth, a two-run single in the fifth to Randy Arozarena and another run was charged to him after he left in the fifth. It has not been an impressive first two outings for the right-handed rookie, and he's now the owner of a 17.55 ERA and 2.25 WHIP over his 6.2 innings of work. He's scheduled for another uneasy task next weekend against the Mets.
APRIL 8, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Pummeled in big-league debut Fujinami (0-1) took the loss against the Angels on Saturday, allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four batters over 2.1 innings.
Impact After 10 years pitching in Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball's Hanshin Tigers, Fujinami signed on with the Athletics in January. This probably wasn't how he envisioned his first major-league start going, as the Angels chased him after just 2.1 frames. The right-hander actually looked great over his first two innings, striking out four batters without allowing a baserunner. Things completely unraveled for him in the third, however, as Los Angeles put eight of the first nine batters on base, with the only out being recorded on a sacrifice fly. Fujinami will look for much better results the next time he takes the mound, which is tentatively scheduled to be next Saturday in Tampa.
APRIL 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Uneven debut a learning opportunity for Fujinami OAKLAND -- The anticipation for Shintaro Fujinami's Major League debut was building since the day he signed with the A’s back in January. A...
APRIL 2, 2023 • MLB.COM
Angels score 11 in 3rd inning, thump Fujinami and A's 13-1
Taylor Ward homered and drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Angels scored 11 times in the third inning to beat the Oakland Athletics 13-1, spoiling the major league debut of pi...APRIL 1, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
8 most interesting MLB players to watch ahead of 2023 season
From former MVP candidates to budding stars, here's listing some of the most fascinating players to follow in the 2023 MLB season.MARCH 29, 2023
Set to start every Saturday Fujinami will start once a week on Saturday's to open the season, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Impact Previous reports indicated that Fujinami would start every six days, meaning they could use a five-man rotation in weeks when they have an off day. The decision to lock Fujinami into a once-a-week role to ease his transition from Japan means the Athletics may be forced to turn to six starters on a regular basis, though the team has yet to clarify its full plans. Assuming he does indeed exclusively pitch on Saturday's, Fujinami's first three outings will be home against the Angels, away against the Rays and home against the Mets.
MARCH 25, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Will start every sixth day Fujinami will start every sixth day this season for the Athletics, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Impact That's the schedule Fujinami is used to from his time in Japan and the A's want to keep it that way, at least for now. Some early-season off days will allow the club to go with five starters for a while, but eventually it will have to use a six-man rotation and/or a spot starter in order to incorporate the plan for Fujinami.
MARCH 21, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Mixed bag in three spring starts Fujinami has allowed five earned runs on six hits and eight walks while recording 13 strikeouts across eight innings in his first three Cactus League starts.
Impact The former NPB star has seen some of his career-long control issues surface in fairly prominent fashion early in his MLB career, but he's also done a nice job closing out his fair share of hitters. Fujinami actually allowed just one earned run across five innings in his first two exhibitions before getting touched up for four runs over three frames by the Rockies in his most recent turn Monday, an outing in which he also rang up seven strikeouts. Fujinami worked up to 70 pitches against Colorado, and although he got only 40 of those offerings into the strike zone, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports the right-hander's fastball hit 99 mph and his slider served as the putaway pitch on five of his seven Ks.
MARCH 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Fujinami stays 'under control' second time around SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- One week after making his spring debut, Shintaro Fujinami was determined to learn from his mistakes. No, the pitching l...
MARCH 8, 2023 • MLB.COM
Spring training: A's prospects making big impression early in camp Shintaro Fujinami made his second outing of the spring on Tuesday and held the Diamondbacks to one run on one hit in three innings.
MARCH 7, 2023 • MERCURYNEWS.COM
Shintaro Fujinami ready to get started in majors with A's
New Oakland right-hander Shintaro Fujinami has been formally introduced by the Athletics after signing a $3.25 million, one-year contractJANUARY 17, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIVE: A's welcome new righty Shintaro Fujinami Watch a live news conference from the Coliseum, where the A's are introducing Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami to the media. Fujinami...
JANUARY 17, 2023 • MLB.COM
A's finalize $3.25M deal with Japanese pitcher Fujinami Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami and the Oakland Athletics have finalized a $3.25 million, one-year contract, a deal that allows him...
JANUARY 14, 2023 • SANDIEGOUNIONTRIBUNE.COM
A's finalize $3.25M deal with Japanese pitcher Fujinami
Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami and the Oakland Athletics have finalized a $3.25 million, one-year contract, a deal that allows him to earn an additional $1 million in perf...JANUARY 14, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
A's sign Japanese RHP Shintaro Fujinami The 28-year-old was signed to a one-year deal Friday.
JANUARY 14, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM
AP source: Japanese right-hander Fujinami agrees with A's
Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami has reached agreement on a $3.25 million, one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics, according to a person with direct knowledge of the d...JANUARY 13, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lands in Oakland Fujinami agreed Wednesday with the Athletics on a one-year contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Impact According to Passan, the 28-year-old right-hander is expected to slot into the Oakland rotation while he makes the jump to MLB after spending the past 10 seasons in his native Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball's Hanshin Tigers. Fujinami stands at imposing 6-foot-6 and sports an upper-90s fastball that can touch the triple digits, but he didn't dominate against NPB competition to the extent his skill set might suggest. While moving between the rotation and bullpen in 2022 for Hanshin, he turned in a 3.38 ERA and struck out 23.6 percent of the batters he faced. He was able to trim his walk rate to a palatable 7.5 percent after often struggling with his control in his prior seasons with Japan, but the move to MLB could make it difficult to maintain that improvement while he faces higher-caliber hitters.
JANUARY 11, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
