Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 628 - 1: Top 100 Rookies (5,000-Word - )_3

Although this ranking is not an honor, it represents the recognition of Major League Baseball and experts to some extent. Benintendi had once thought that the number one spot among the top 100 rookies would be his for sure.

But the results now show that someone has delivered a better, more outstanding performance than him over the past few years, and in the eyes of MLB's professional teams, has more potential. How can this not leave him surprised?

"Okay, let me see who exactly has defeated me…" Andrew Benintendi muttered.

"Ahem…" Seeing the time was about right, Amstinger stopped keeping people in suspense, quickly turning to Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis nearby to ask, "So Jonathan, Jim, which player could defeat so many talented faces to become number one on our 2017 season's Top 100 Rookies list?"

The other two didn't keep people in suspense and directly revealed the final answer:

"Number one in the 2017 season's Top 100 Rookies, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Lin Guanglai."

When this name appeared among the thousands of households in the entire United States watching this program, some people had confused expressions on their faces, completely unaware of what was happening; while others showed knowing smiles, looking as if they "already knew."

"Some fans who only focus on the Major League might find this name somewhat unfamiliar, but as long acknowledged as the strongest player outside the North American baseball system, when Lin Guanglai announced early last season that he would be joining the Major League in the 2017 season, he almost attracted the attention of all teams—despite the new labor agreement limiting his signing amount, this 21-year-old still insisted on his decision to go to the US; under the old agreement, he could have earned over 200 million dollars in contracts."

"From my personal perspective, such a player shouldn't appear on such a list, because comparing young players from lower leagues with this famous Japanese star doesn't make sense. This 'Asian Babe Ruth' Dual Swordsmanship star also issued a statement through his agency team—teams wanting to sign him must support his decision to pursue both pitching and hitting in the Major League."

"In the past three seasons, he has practically ruled Nippon Professional Baseball single-handedly: defended as league MVP and Nippon Professional Baseball's best pitcher Eiji Sawamura Award winner for three consecutive years, delivered 20-game wins and 300K seasons for two consecutive years, hit over 20 home runs for four consecutive years, and even posted a 0.97 ERA last season… His comparisons shouldn't be these emerging rookies, but established stars like Kershaw and Trout!"

"Our scouting team's evaluation of his pitching talent is almost dreamy: he holds Japan Professional Baseball's fastest pitch record of 102.5 mph, consistently hitting high 90s fastballs while maintaining top speed into late innings; his forkball is miraculous, having a typical forkball's sharp downward trajectory while even reaching speeds of 94 mph or higher, and a newly developed pitch named 'forked sinker' by him, sharing similar mechanics and trajectory with the former, a weapon even above average in the Major League; moreover, his changeup and slider are at least above league average; even the common control issue among fastball pitchers isn't a problem for him, he possesses the ability to place the ball in any corner of the strike zone…"

"Summarizing, in terms of pitching, our evaluation is: fastball 80 points, slider 60 points, changeup 65 points, forkball 80 points, forked sinker 80 points, control 80 points, overall rating 80 points—which is the first occurrence of an 80-point full score in the history of the Top 100 Rookies' inception, unanimously considered that the three-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner's MLB rookie goal should be to compete for the Cy Young Award's honor title against established pitchers like Kershaw, Scherzer, and Verlander!"

"As for hitting, although our team generally believes he can achieve a higher ceiling focusing solely as a pitcher, Lin Guanglai's hitting potential is equally star-worthy. As a left-handed hitter with top-charting raw power, he can easily hit batting-scale home runs; although rarely stealing bases during Nippon Professional Baseball, he still possesses sprint speed far above Major League average; with cannon-like arm strength, he can at least handle right field defense—of course, if he joins an American League team, he will most likely serve as a designated hitter, getting more at-bats while reserving energy for pitching."

"Combining the above data, our batter evaluation is: hitting 60 points, power 70 points, baserunning 65 points, arm strength 80 points, defense 50 points, overall evaluation still reaching 65 points, perhaps Nippon Professional Baseball's hitting data does contain some elements of inflation, but judging from his physical talent and technique, Lin Guanglai has at least achieved Major League team's core hitter level."

"Such a player entering the free agent market is bound to drive the entire MLB crazy, as far as I know, no less than 10 teams have already expressed interest in this young Dual Swordsmanship and have chartered flights to Japan to initiate negotiations…"

"Now the question is, who will this generational super talent eventually sign with?"