As NPB teams court Japanese high school pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, 18, prior to the upcoming NPB Draft, two Red Sox pitchers share their thoughts on Kikuchi potentially jumping to an MLB organization.

NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman translated quotes from both Nikkan Sports and Sanspo articles in which Red Sox pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Junichi Tazawa spoke on the potential of Kikuchi moving directly to MLB from high school.

According to Newman’s translation, Matsuzaka once considered making such a jump himself, but decided against it.

“I thought about it (going to MLB after high school) too, but I didn’t yet have what it would take to make the decision, and I thought I would go after getting results in Japan,” Matsuzaka said, as translated by Newman. “If he has confidence that he can do it, either way is good.”

While Matsuzaka was acquired by Boston via the posting process, Tazawa was a trail blazer of sorts — he signed with the Red Sox after NPB imposed a new rule suspending any player who attempts to return to NPB after first dodging its Draft to play overseas. To him, it was the right decision, but he would not go as far as to suggest a similar path for Kikuchi.

“It’s his own life so I want him to make a choice he won’t regret,” Tazawa said, as translated by Newman.

Be sure to check out Newman’s post titled Kikuchi’s First Day of Meetings for further comments from the two pitchers concerning Kikuchi and their respective time in Boston.

The Red Sox are reportedly one of four teams scheduled to meet with Kikuchi on Monday. The meeting would be the first step in bringing his eephus pitch to the organization:

Like what you see? This is Japanese High School pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, 18, a potential follower on the path blazed by Red Sox pitcher Junichi Tazawa.

The information about Boston’s reported interest comes from our friend Patrick Newman over at NPB Tracker, whose latest report contains the word “update” in the headline:

This is the first mention I’ve seen in the Japanese media of the Red Sox being in the mix. According to Nikkan, Boston had scout Craig Shipley at Koshien, observing in deep secrecy.

Deep secrecy makes the reported pursuit of Kikuchi sound even cooler than it likely is. And while one cannot assume that the pitcher is wont to sign with a Major League Baseball team, Boston can be seen as a major player in any deal involving an NPB player or prospect. With Daisuke Matsuzaka — a favorite among certain up-and-coming Japanese prospects — Hideki Okajima and Junichi Tazawa in the organization, the Red Sox have establish a — for lack of a better word — pipeline with Japan.

Although the Red Sox saw a quick adaptation to American baseball by Tazawa in 2009, it would be unfair to expect such an adjustment from a high schooler like Kikuchi. Still, as Boston has done with Tazawa and his 3-year deal (plus arbitration rights pending MLB service time), signing Kikuchi could set the team up well for the future.

A look at the expiration dates on the team’s current members of its pitching staff shares a glimpse as to when Kikuchi would fit into Boston’s plans, should he first decide to take his game to MLB and then choose the Red Sox as his destination.

Final year under contract:

• Josh Beckett, 2010
• Junichi Tazawa, 2011 (plus 6 years MLB service time arbitration control)
• Daisuke Matsuzaka, 2012
• Jon Lester, 2014 (club option)
• Clay Buchholz, 2014 (pending MLB service time alloted for purpose of arbitration control)

A similar deal to that of Tazawa would put Kikuchi under the organization’s control long past the days of Beckett, and potentially in position to serve as a back end of the rotation replacement for Matsuzaka, should he leave via free agency after the 2012 season. Of course, all these hopes hinge on the world not ending on December 12, 2012 as the Mayans predicted with that fancy calendar of theirs.

Having only seen Kikuchi on YouTube, I can’t offer a sound scouting report. Be sure to check out that which is provided by Newman on his site. It includes metric conversions, because who knows if 144 km/h is as fast if it sounds? Beyond his performance on the field, Newman shares some insight into the persona of Kikuchi, which is important when importing a player who holds a language barrier, as Red Sox fans learned through the mid-season absence of Matsuzaka due to his resistance to adhere to the team’s fitness guidelines.

It’s clearly early in the process, as the player is simply meeting with team’s at the start of next week. But when a team’s season ends early, these are the types of rumblings about which fans can get excited. It would behoove Red Sox fans to prevent themselves from getting overconfident in the pursuit of Kikuchi, as there is no telling what he is trying to get out of a prospective move to MLB.

In just his third Major League start, Red Sox rookie Junichi Tazawa, 23, silenced the bats of the New York Yankees, which knocked around Boston pitching Friday night to the tune of 20 runs.

Tazawa turned in six innings of shutout ball against one of the best lineups in baseball, showing enough confidence to get out of innings with runners left on base.

“He’s poised beyond his experience, that’s for sure. He did nothing today to make us feel any less about that — he just added on,” manager Terry Francona said. “It looks like if you’re going to beat him, you have to beat him. You’re not going to beat him because he was pitching in the (Japanese) Industrial League last year.”

“It’s pretty tough when you face a pitcher that jumps on you 0-1, 0-2,” first baseman Victor Martinez said. “Barely a few batters he fell down in the count, and when he did he was able to throw the off-speed pitches for a strike.”

Tazawa came to the Red Sox organization straight from the Japanese Industrial League, a move that prompted Nippon Pro Baseball to create a new rule banning a player who makes such a jump from returning to Japanese baseball. He has shown little fear in rocking the boat of an entire professional baseball league, as well as little fear in a lineup of big name bats.

“The mound presence and the poise that he has, we knew that would be something he would take to the mound today,” pitching coach John Farrell said.

Boston won 14-1, looking to pull out a series win on Sunday as Josh Beckett opposes CC Sabathia.

His first appearance on a Major League mound was not what one would hope for in a debut. Junichi Tazawa allowed a two-run home run to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, breaking up 14 scoreless innings and earning the second of four losses in a series dominated by the Bronx Bombers.

But Tazawa would stay on the roster to pitch another day, getting the start Tuesday night for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers.

At the outset, it seemed as if Tazawa might be in for a long night. He allowed three runs — one earned — on three hits, a walk and a hit batsmen in the first inning.

Tazawa might have gotten out of the first with just the one earned run, but a throwing error by Nick Green extended the inning.

“Even though they scored three runs, it could have been more extensive than that,” Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell said. “Similar to what he showed up in spring training, not any fear of the opposition, not any fear of contact with pitches in the strike zone. He came back out — second through the fifth inning — and seemingly got a better rhythm and got better as the game went along.”

After that rough patch in the first, Tazawa cruised through five innings of work, allowing just one hit and striking out six over his final four innings.

“Really, there was no advice to give him, because his mound presence and his emotional control were very evident,” Farrell said. “The thing that he did, and was most impressive, was continue to execute pitches despite a couple of ground balls that could have shortened up the first inning.

“As the game went along, his fastball command — particularly down in the strike zone — and his split (fingered pitch) got better as the game went along. He was very impressive for the five innings he pitched tonight,” Farrell said.

The rookie pitcher from Japan not only dealt with a rough first inning, but sat through a lengthy delay in the game when third baseman Kevin Youkilis charged the mound, igniting a bench clearing brawl between the two teams during the bottom of the second inning. Pitcher Chris Lambert replaced Detroit starter Rick Porcello, and was allowed as much time as he needed to warm up his arm.

Boston’s pitching coach was pleased with the solid nerves Tazawa displayed on the mound, despite a first inning and lengthy delay that would have sent a lesser pitcher tumbling toward an early exit.

“For his first Major League start, there wasn’t a whole lot of anxiety — at least outwardly shown on his part,” Farrell said. “He seemed to have everything in order, in terms of how he was handling his first Major League start here in Boston in pennant race.”

Tazawa was replaced after tossing 98 pitches through five innings — enough to earn him his first win in the Major Leagues. Boston beat Detroit 7-5, but remained five-and-a-half games behind New York in the AL East standings.