On November 12 and 13 the Netherlands will square off against Japan at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The two-game exhibition series is a part of a World Baseball Classic warm-up of Samurai Japan. They also face Mexico for two games.
Japan has already released its 28-man roster for the two-game series against the Dutch team. The team is highlighted by two-way superstar Shohei Otani of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham-Fighters. He collected 174 strikeouts and had an ERA of 1.86 on the mound, while batting .322 with 22 home runs at the plate this year.
Meanwhile the roster for the Dutch team hasn’t been finalized yet. The team will be managed by San Francisco Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens. According to KNBSB it will feature 15 players from the Dutch Hoofdklasse plus players from other leagues around the world. Already confirmed are Yurendell De Caster, Mike Bolsenbroek, Kalian Sams, Jair Jurrjens, Shawn Zarraga and Sharlon Schoop.
Roster Samurai Japan:
Pitchers:
Ryo Akiyoshi (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
Shintaro Fujinami (Hanshin Tigers)
Kenta Ishida (Yokohama DeNa Baystars)
Ayumu Ishikawa (Chiba Lotte Marines)
Hirotoshi Masui (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Naoki Miyanishi (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Shota Nakazaki (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
Yusuke Nomura (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
Shohei Otani (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Kodai Senga (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Tomoyuki Sugano (Yomiuri Giants)
Kazuto Taguchi (Yomiuri Giants)
Shota Takeda (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Yasuaki Yamasaki (Yokohama DeNa Baystars)
Catchers:
Seiji Kobayashi (Yomiuri Giants)
Shota Ono (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Motohiro Shima (Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles)
Infielders:
Ryosuke Kikuchi (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
Nobuhiro Matsuda (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Takuya Nakashima (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Sho Nakata (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters)
Hayato Sakamoto (Yomiuri Giants)
Seiichi Uchikawa (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)
Tetsuto Yamada (Tokyo Yakult Swallows)
Outfielders:
Shogo Akiyama (Saitama Seibu Lions)
Seiya Suzuki (Hiroshima Toyo Carp)
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (Yokohama DeNa Baystars)
Yuki Yanagita (Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks)