This article is part of our Dream11 Fantasy NPB series.
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (4-2) vs Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (3-3)
Friday, June 26th, 6:35 AM EDT
Projected starters
RHP Takahiro Norimoto (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs RHP Kohei Arihara (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Game Preview
The Golden Eagles enter this matchup holding a 4-2 record, while the Fighters have posted a 3-3 mark. These two teams have already played four times this season and Rakuten hold a 2-1 advantage. The Fighters won 8-5 during Thursday's meeting, but Tohoku Rakuten took control of the series after winning the first two games – 5-2 and 4-0, respectively. Ahead of this contest, both teams will trout their respective aces. The Golden Eagles will send Takahiro Norimoto, while the Fighters will counter with Kohei Arihara. Norimoto had a 2.49 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 83 strikeouts over 83 innings for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2019 and allowed one run across seven innings in his 2020 debut, while Arihara gave up three runs in six frames during Opening Day. He had a 2.46 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 161 strikeouts in 164.1 innings last season.
Rakuten Golden Eagles Expected Lineup:
SS – Eigoro Mogi
3B – Daichi Suzuki
DH – Jabari Blash
2B – Hideto Asamura
LF – Hiroaki Shimauchi
RF – Stefen Romero
1B – Ginji Akaminai
C – Hikaru Ohta
CF – Ryosuke Tatsumi
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Expected Lineup:
CF – Haruki Nishikawa
RF – Taishi Ohta
LF – Kensuke Kondoh
1B – Sho Nakata
DH – Po-Jung Wang
2B – Ryo Watanabe
SS
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (4-2) vs Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (3-3)
Friday, June 26th, 6:35 AM EDT
Projected starters
RHP Takahiro Norimoto (1-0, 1.29 ERA) vs RHP Kohei Arihara (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Game Preview
The Golden Eagles enter this matchup holding a 4-2 record, while the Fighters have posted a 3-3 mark. These two teams have already played four times this season and Rakuten hold a 2-1 advantage. The Fighters won 8-5 during Thursday's meeting, but Tohoku Rakuten took control of the series after winning the first two games – 5-2 and 4-0, respectively. Ahead of this contest, both teams will trout their respective aces. The Golden Eagles will send Takahiro Norimoto, while the Fighters will counter with Kohei Arihara. Norimoto had a 2.49 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 83 strikeouts over 83 innings for the Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2019 and allowed one run across seven innings in his 2020 debut, while Arihara gave up three runs in six frames during Opening Day. He had a 2.46 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 161 strikeouts in 164.1 innings last season.
Rakuten Golden Eagles Expected Lineup:
SS – Eigoro Mogi
3B – Daichi Suzuki
DH – Jabari Blash
2B – Hideto Asamura
LF – Hiroaki Shimauchi
RF – Stefen Romero
1B – Ginji Akaminai
C – Hikaru Ohta
CF – Ryosuke Tatsumi
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Expected Lineup:
CF – Haruki Nishikawa
RF – Taishi Ohta
LF – Kensuke Kondoh
1B – Sho Nakata
DH – Po-Jung Wang
2B – Ryo Watanabe
SS – Kazunari Ishii
3B – Yuki Nomura
C – Shingo Usami
Top picks:
Stefen Romero, Golden Eagles: Romero has been sizzling hot to start the season since he is slashing .421/.542/.842 during his first 24 plate appearances. He only has one home run, but has supplemented that with five doubles so the extra-base power is clearly there.
Takahiro Norimoto, Golden Eagles: Norimoto dazzled on Opening Day after allowing just one run across seven innings, and he holds the platoon advantage ahead of this contest since he is a lefty. He seems bound to dominate and deliver another strong performance.
Hideto Asamura, Golden Eagles: Asamura has uncommon power for a middle infielder, and he has gone yard twice already in only 25 at-bats. He has been one of the most reliable hitters for Rakuten in 2020, slashing .360/.385/.680 in 26 plate appearances.
Sho Nakata, Fighters: Nakata is one of the most expensive players in the slate at 14.5 credits so it might be a bit risky to line him up in an Eagles-based lineup, but he can deliver and has a strong track record. He is only hitting .238, but he should be able to turn things around sooner than later. He already has three home runs in 2020.
Captaincy Options:
Dream11 Team
P – Takahiro Norimoto (VC)
C – Yuki Umebayashi
IF – Hideto Asamura
IF – Yuhei Nanba
IF – Toshitake Yokoo
IF – Daichi Suzuki
IF – Sho Nakata
OF – Stefen Romero (C)
OF – Atsuki Mutoh
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn.
