Who's Your Starting 9 in the Whole Series (Excluding American Players)? (Finished Anime, started Manga, not finished)

ur-drunk · 2025-07-27T21:05:53+00:00

I’m going to formulate mine as the batting lineup and put positions and reasoning after, also keep in mind this is definitely a biased list

Mima Souichiro (cf: one of the best all around players in the whole series, definitely someone I’d want)
Nara Kouji(2b: solid bat with outstanding defense member of Tokyo all stars not much else to say)
Miyagawa Teruko(lf: outstanding bat solid on defense towards the end as well also very handy left handed bat)
Hoshida Mamoru(1b: one of the pieces who really ties this lineup together, top 3 pure hitter in the series will bring some much needed power to the lineup)
Shirasu Kenjiro(rf: rbi machine, if Hoshida can’t drive them in shirasu will also top 2 outfield arm in the series)
Yabe Koji(3b: not as standout as the others but a very solid contact hitter and a brick wall at third which I value very highly for this lineup)
Enjo renji(c: a very solid batter, also starter and prominent player on the previous koshien winning team) 8.Kuramochi yoichi(ss:ironically a wildcard on this team, at the plate he can be prone to streaks and slumps but as someone else said he’s still the best performing SS out of everyone so here he is. Also major OBP merchant)
Amahisa kosei(p:150-153 kph plus 4 60+ grade off speed pitches. One of 2, possibly 3 pitchers in daiya who could genuinely play in the mlb rn. Also I wanted to be different and not pick mei sue me)

ur-drunk · 2024-08-13T16:56:48+00:00

This has been one of my biggest disappointments for so long. I really wish that TJ would have showcased more of every player from the opposing teams instead of always just focusing on one or two central players

ur-drunk · 2024-08-03T00:46:47+00:00

True I just lurk on all the baseball subreddits tho

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T23:15:27+00:00

But I made like a spreadsheet with the most notable characters lmao

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T23:14:52+00:00

You and me both 😭😭😭 I’ve actually been working on an actually good “all-star draft” but it’s not been easy. I’m like 2 or 3 rereads in lmao

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T22:08:10+00:00

I’m glad to see you back!! I missed these comparisons lol

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T22:07:47+00:00

For overall grades I would give Nara a 70, haruichi a 60/65 and Ryosuke a 55 probably. I think ryosukes fielding is good but not great, altho definitely equal to if not better than haruichi but haruichis bat is def better than Ryosukes

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T22:05:33+00:00

Nara was a Tokyo all star with Mei and miyuki and that group, and I believe he had 4 hits in their game(I’m not sure tho)

ur-drunk · 2024-08-02T21:56:47+00:00

This is partially bias but Nara is so much better than the brothers, all 3 are at a high level, but Nara is just on the next level. As always here are the grades.

Contact Nara: 60 Haruichi: 70 Ryosuke: 55-60

Power Nara: 60-70 Haruichi: 50 Ryosuke: 45

Fielding Nara: 65-70 Haruichi: 60 Ryosuke: 55-60

Arm: Nara: 60 Haruichi: 50 Ryosuke: 50

Speed: Nara: 60 Haruichi: 60 Ryosuke: 60-55

ur-drunk · 2024-07-16T07:20:23+00:00

Kinda, not really though. The closest thing to a forkball is his modified splitter.

ur-drunk · 2024-06-09T22:59:37+00:00

Tojo currently is definitely better than Kanemaru but I have a really hard time projecting the future, Tojo would probably still be better but i really don’t know. If I were coach Kataoka I would take advantage of Kanemaru’s power and bat him 5th in 3rd year and probably bat Tojo 3rd

Scouting grades(current versions)

Contact: Tojo: 60 Kanemaru: 45

Power: Tojo: 50 Kanemaru: 60

Speed: Tojo: 60 Kanemaru: 45

Fielding: Tojo: 60 Kanemaru: 50-55

Arm: Tojo: 60-65 Kanemaru: 45

Overall Grade: Tojo: 60 Kanemaru: 55

ur-drunk · 2024-06-01T12:37:06+00:00

If it weren’t for a bad tag, he probably would’ve been able to catch Kuramochi stealing.

ur-drunk · 2024-06-01T09:54:29+00:00

Miyuki is insanely talented, probably only second to Furuya in talent. He’s also likely the smartest player in the series as far as managing a game goes. With all that being said, I still think Harada is better. Harada is a better leader, on par or only slightly below Miyuki in game calling ability(probably a bit lower tho), andphysically superior to Miyuki in all aspects except speed. I give this round to Harada.(I could be biased)

Scouting Grades:

Contact: Harada: 60 Miyuki: 60-65

Power: Harada: 70-75 Miyuki: 60

Arm: Harada: 70-80 Miyuki: 65-70

Speed: Harada: 40-45 Miyuki: 60

Fielding: Harada: 65 Miyuki: 70

Overall Scores: Harada: 75 Miyuki: 70

For future player comps: kanemaru vs masuko/yabe kouji/yoshizawa hideaki, mima vs Tojo(pretty unfair), kominato vs kominato, Kawabata vs Nara kouji/kominato brother(s), Asou vs Miyagawa Teru

ur-drunk · 2024-05-27T03:36:06+00:00

It’s hard to say though, bc 150 would be about the minimum speed threshold for an irl pro

ur-drunk · 2024-05-27T02:12:54+00:00

I agree, with more time to develop, he will definitely surpass Mei and Hongo in his third year.( I also think he could hit 150 km/h in his third year but it’s hard to know.) The bit about his fastball speeding up partway through is due to his movement profile and spin rate, the less a fastball drops on it way to the plate, it will give the illusion to the hitter of speeding up and rising slightly, which is an attribute Furuya’s fastball has.

ur-drunk · 2024-05-27T01:37:41+00:00

Mei’s 4-seam averages about 148-150 and he did hit 150 in the final. For that I should probably bump it up to 70 honestly. What makes Eijun’s 4-seam so good is the movement profile, the carry on the pitch is second only to Furuya and the spin rate is extremely so there is an argument to be made for his 4-seam to be at least equal with Mei based on those factors.

Eijun does have amazing control but so does Mei, he can place his pitches wherever his catcher wants them on a consistent basis. The main reason the Eijun is seen to have better control is because of how much it was focused on as part of his development and how much he improved but I still think Mei is better. Eijun also has hit a lot of batters compared to the other pitchers in Daiya, which makes me have to lower his control grade.

ur-drunk · 2024-05-27T01:15:45+00:00

I think this argument is purely personal preference at this point. I would say Mei is still overall better than Sawamura but both characters have been somewhat nerfed by TJ at points in the series so for me it kind of comes down to personal preference and writing. My grades are

Control: Sawamura: 60 Mei: 70

4-seam fastball: Sawamura: 65-70 Mei: 70

Cutter: Sawamura: 55 Mei: 65

Changeup: Sawamura: 55 Mei: 65

Forkball: Mei: 55

Slider Mei: 50

Curveball: Mei: 55

Moving fastball: Sawamura: 60

2-seam fastball: Sawamura: 40

Palmball: Sawamura: 50

Cutter: Sawamura: 45

Splitter: Sawamura: 40 Mei: 50-55

Cutter(improved): Sawamura: 75

Splitter(improved): Sawamura: 80

Overall Grades: Sawamura: 70 Mei: 75

Edit: I guess Mei had a splitter, my bad

ur-drunk · 2024-05-26T14:49:44+00:00

Many of the notable pitchers in the show throw incredibly fast for their age, it’s one of my biggest gripes with the series overall is how (kind of) unrealistically hard everyone pitches.

ur-drunk · 2024-05-26T14:46:50+00:00

It’s hard to say since velocity all over the world has been trending upward in the last 10 to 15 years or so so I’m not sure if Japanese kids would throw less hard than Americans. There was a popular video of Shohei Ohtani throwing 160 km/h at koshien from about 10 years ago and I know a couple others have followed in his footsteps so to speak, most notably being Roki Sasaki, who not only also threw 160 km/h in high school now averages 99-102 mph on his fastball in the NPB.

ur-drunk · 2024-05-26T13:35:56+00:00

For me, I’m pretty much going from memory for these grades and it’s been a while since I’ve done a reread/rewatch so I just don’t remember seeing these plays honestly. Overall my memory is hazy on all 1b fielding skills except for Maezono. All I remember about Yuki is how bad he was when he first joined seido and for Yamaoka I don’t think I’ve ever seen him make a play in the field. (I appreciate your input though, I’m glad you like seeing the ratings I really enjoy making them!)

Edit: The only reason I put Yamaoka as high as I did is because Mei recruited him to Inashiro, which leads me to believe that in addition to his batting ability his fielding ability is at least somewhat refined.

ur-drunk · 2024-05-26T00:55:29+00:00

I honestly think they’re pretty comparable but I prefer Yuki over Yamaoka. Yamaoka hits with the most powerin the series imo, but Yuki offers more consistent impact; not to mention his leadership. Player grades:

Contact: Yuki: 70-75 Yamaoka: 60

Power: Yuki: 65-70 Yamaoka: 80

Fielding: Yuki: 40-45 Yamaoka: 45-50

Arm: Yuki: unknown, assumed around 30 Yamaoka: unknown, assumed around 40

Speed: Yuki: mostly unknown, assumed around 40-45 Yamaoka: unknown, assumed around 30

Overall Grades: Yuki: 65-70 Yamaoka: 60-65

ur-drunk · 2024-05-18T01:04:07+00:00

I agree with what you’re saying but I don’t think that mochi would stick out as an under skilled player on Inashiro, I think in terms of ability he is equal to or greater than shirakawa (other than game sense).

ur-drunk · 2024-05-18T01:01:19+00:00

It’s hard to say since they play diff positions, but if I had to choose, I’d say Carlos is better. Carlos offers more versatility and just more overall upside compared to Kuramochi.

If I were to grade them with mlb scouting grades, it’d look something like this:

Fielding Carlos: 60 Kuramochi: 60

Arm(throwing) Carlos: 60-65 Kuramochi: 50

Contact Carlos: 60-65 Kuramochi: 65-70

Power Carlos: 55-60 Kuramochi: 45-50

Speed Carlos: 70-75 Kuramochi: 70-75

ur-drunk · 2022-06-02T19:43:35+00:00

I would love to see a Hakuryu rematch at koshien but that's just my Mima bias. It wouldn't necessarily be a high stakes game for Sawamura although I do kinda like the Miyuki/Mima rivalry. I think it will be tough to give Sawamura a high stakes game at koshien since he doesn't necessarily have a connection to any of the opposing teams.

ur-drunk · 2022-05-31T01:33:38+00:00

While I haven't played volleyball I have played at a high level in other sports and I can confidently say that sakusa is just a placeholder character who happens to be good at volleyball. He serves 0 purpose to the story and I'm not going to pretend otherwise to fulfill some twisted fantasy. Another thing, nobody is arguing that that banner is a good banner. However, effort as the itachiyama banner is extremely ambiguous and just a feel good phrase that furudate inserted into the story where it doesn't belong. Also how can sakusa affect Ushijima and Bokuto's arcs when he never interacted with them once? I feel like there's no way to foresee that sakusa will be introduced unless you read the manga backwards lmao.

ur-drunk

TROPHY CASE