Dream11 Fantasy NPB: Lions at Fighters

Saitama Seibu Lions (28-33-2) at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (31-31-3)

Friday, September 4th, 5:00 AM EDT

Projected Starters

Fighters: RHP Toshihiro Sugiura (5-2, 2.93 ERA)

Lions: RHP Zach Neal (2-4, 4.87 ERA)

Game Preview

The Fighters and the Lions currently sit in fourth and fifth place of the Pacific League standings and, if the 2020 NPB season ended today, they would be out of the playoffs. The good news, however, is that both are within distance of fourth place so this game could have huge playoff implications now that the 2020 campaign is entering its second half. The pitching matchup for this duel features two righties, as Toshihiro Siguira will get the ball for the Fighters and Zach Neal will start for the Lions. The numbers lean towards Siguira's side, as he owns a sub-3.00 ERA while Neal's figure creeps closer to the 5.00 mark.

Injuries

Katsuhiko Kumon - Out - Upper Leg

7/31 1:37 AM IST - Kumon was deactivated Thursday and is expected to miss four weeks due a strained adductor muscle in his left leg, Jim Allen of JBallAllen.com reports. Kumon picked up the injury in his appearance in Wednesday's game against the Buffaloes, during which he blew a one-run lead. The lefty reliever owns a 4.97 ERA and 11:4 K:BB across 12.2 innings this season.

Nick Martinez - Day-To-Day - Finger

8/21 11:02 PM IST - Martinez was diagnosed with a bruised right ring finger after being struck by a comebacker during his start in Thursday's loss to the Eagles. Before the liner struck his pitching hand, Martinez was rolling for the Fighters, as he'd tossed five scoreless innings. The injury forced him from the game, however. Given that he avoided structural damage to his finger, Martinez appears likely to take the mound when his turn in the rotation comes up again next week.

Yuki Nomura - Out - Finger

7/9 4:21 AM IST - Nomura had successful surgery Wednesday to address the broken right pinkie finger he suffered in Tuesday's loss to the Buffaloes, Full-Count.jp reports. Nomura is expected to face a three-month recovery from the procedure, effectively taking him off the radar for the remainder of his rookie season. The 20-year-old had been a lineup regular at third base for the Fighters, going 10-for-46 (.217 average) with two home runs and eight RBI through his first 13 NPB games.

Eito Tanaka - Out - Elbow

7/10 6:41 AM IST - The Fighters announced Thursday that Tanaka underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, Full-Count.jp reports. He's expected to be sidelined for two months before starting a throwing program. The 20-year-old made his NPB debut for Nippon-Ham in September of last season, giving up two runs in a two-inning appearance. Since he'll still need to complete more rehab work once he starts up his throwing program, Tanaka's absence could extend to the three-month mark or longer. The Fighters likely aren't counting on him to hold a major role once he's healthy again.

Hiroshi Urano - Out - Chest

6/30 8:47 PM IST - Urano required an appendectomy Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks following surgery, Yahoo Japan reports. Urano will be hospitalized through Saturday before taking the next three weeks off to rest up and recover from the emergency procedure. The 30-year-old had yet to appear in a game for the Fighters this season after going 3-1 with seven holds and a 4.98 ERA over 25 appearances in 2019.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Expected Lineup

1. Haruki Nishikawa

2. Taishi Ohta

3. Kensuke Kondoh

4. Sho Nakata

5. Ryo Watanabe

6. Christian Villanueva

7. Kotaro Kiyomiya

8. Shingo Usami

9. Takuya Nakashima

Saitama Seibu Lions Expected Lineup

1. Cory Spangenberg

2. Sosuke Genda

3. Shuta Tonosaki

4. Hotaka Yamakawa

5. Tomoya Mori

6. Takeya Nakamura

7. Takumi Kuriyama

8. Seiji Kawagoe

9. Shohei Suzuki

Top Picks / Captaincy Options

1. Sho Nakata
2. Ryo Watanabe
3. Hotaka Yamakawa
4. Cory Spangenberg

Dream11 Team

P – Toshihiro Sugiura

C – Shingo Usami

IF – Sho Nakata (C)

IF – Ryo Watanabe (VC)

IF – Hotaka Yamakawa

IF – Ernesto Mejia

IF – Toshitake Yokoo

OF – Haruki Nishikawa

OF – Cory Spangenberg