Danny Almonte 2.0

Kotaro Kiyomiya, try saying that one time fast, is the talk of this year's Little League World Series. Kiyomiya is a monster of a human, let alone kid, on the Japanese National Team. He is 13 years old and measures in at 6 feet, 206 pounds. On top of this, he throws a fastball at speeds around 80 MPH from a distance of 46 feet! That is the equivalent of a 104 MPH fastball from a Major League distance. Good luck touching that.

Now, if you get as excited as I do every time this tournament rolls around, the name Danny Almonte probably pops into your head. He was the kid who lied about his age in order to be eligible to play. What a legend Almonte was, he threw a no-hitter to get his Bronx, NY team to Williamsport and followed that up with the first perfect game since 1957 in the 2001 tournament. Just "big leaguing" everyone.

I see a lot of similarities here though. Kiyomiya throws way harder than anyone else in the tournament at 80 MPH, Almonte threw 75. He also is way larger than any other player in the league at 6 foot, 206. Almonte was 5 foot 8, but he was more of a wiry build and wasn't as large. And both, were and are, what everyone who has interest in the tournament, was and is, talking about.

I don't know enough about ol' Kotaro over here to say whether or not he is or isn't 13 years old, but the fact that he also said he hit 60 home runs in 50 games this season, along with his stature and 80 MPH fastball, I'm definitely going to question it. If it is true, watch out Bryce Haper. And Mr. Kiyomiya, I cannot wait until you sport the pinstripes. See you in a few years!

One Last Thing: What numbers do you think you could put up if you played in this league at your current age now? I'm pretty sure I'd be batting .800 with around 10 homers and 25 RBI's as long as we don't play Japan. Plus, no one is touching my "Uncle Chuck" when they have two strikes, so my WHIP and ERA would be unmatched. I might even challenge Kotato for the Little League Cy Young, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.