Unwelcome home for Iwakuma: Seattle pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma gave up six runs and 10 hits over four laborious innings during the Mariners' 9-3 loss to the Yomiuri Giants in an exhibition game on Tuesday. Iwakuma, who received the start in his native Japan, tallied just one strikeout and no walks. "I don't feel any problem with the shoulder, but for the [radar] gun, I expect more speed," Iwakuma told MLB.com. "So I need to work on that." (Updated 03/26/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Iwakuma earned the ceremonial start on Tuesday, but will serve out of the bullpen for Seattle during the regular season. The right-hander pitched in Japan for 11 years before coming to the Mariners during the past offseason. He could still slide into the starting rotation at some point this season as Seattle boasts several young starters. For now, he's not worth much Fantasy consideration in upcoming drafts. (Updated 03/26/2012).
03/30/2012 09:35 Fantasy Relief: Assessing all 30 bullpens
What do the bullpen and closer situations look like in the Nationbal League? Michael Hurcomb debuts Fantasy Relief, a weekly column dedicated to finding you saves and other critical relief pitching stats.
03/27/2012 15:32 First pitch in Fantasy already upon us
Get ready for a strange Week 1 of the 2012 Fantasy Baseball season with a look at the pitching staffs headed to Japan. Al Melchior tells you who to target and who to avoid from the Mariners and Athletics.
03/26/2012 09:51 Iwakuma gives up six runs in Mariners' 9-3 loss to Yomiuri
Hisashi Iwakuma had a shaky return to Japan on Monday, giving up six runs over four innings in the Seattle Mariners' 9-3 loss to the Yomiuri Giants in an exhibition game.
Hisashi Iwakuma is hoping his stellar production is not lost in translation. After winning more than 100 games and the 2008 Pacific League MVP award during his career in Japan, Iwakuma signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners last January. The 30-year-old, whose arrival to the United States was certainly unceremonious compared to his Japanese counterpart Yu Darvish, is expected to land a spot in the starting rotation with Seattle. Iwakuma dealt with a right shoulder injury last season that limited him to 17 starts, but he has declared himself healthy during the early part of the spring. The right-hander was able to amass 20-plus wins during his MVP campaign, but victories could be hard to come by with the lowly Mariners. Consider Iwakuma a late-round flier in deeper AL-only Fantasy drafts for the upcoming season. (Updated 3/5/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start