Japan has sent a lot of talented pitchers to the United States.
Some of them have flopped, but many of them have had success in MLB: Shohei Ohtani, Kodai Senga, Yu Darvish, Masahiro Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma, Hiroki Kuroda, Koji Uehara, and Kazuhiro Sasaki are just a few examples, past and present.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto can be the next big Japanese hurler to make it in America.
The talented right-hander was brilliant in the World Baseball Classic and had another excellent season in his native country.
The world got to see his talent to pitch, and his next move is signing a contract with an MLB team via the posting process.
“There’s worldwide buzz about Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Which team will sign the 25-year-old ace?” MLB tweeted.
There’s worldwide buzz about Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Which team will sign the 25-year-old ace? pic.twitter.com/bVBlHIlHQf
— MLB (@MLB) November 8, 2023
Yamamoto showed the world what he is capable of when he struck out 14 batters in a 138-pitch complete game for the Orix Buffaloes in Game 6 of the Japan Series.
The league also included some of his numbers in the graphic above.
In seven seasons in Japan, he is a whopping 70-29 with a 1.82 ERA and 922 strikeouts in 897 frames.
He has been elected as the MVP of the Pacific League twice and has two no-hitters to his name.
With a fastball that can reach as high as 98 mph and several secondaries that can miss bats (including a splitter, a cutter/slider, and a beautiful curveball), Yamamoto has the stuff and poise to succeed.
Oh, and he also has the command.
Much like Senga with the Mets, Yamamoto is good enough to come to the States and be an ace right away.
He will be pricy, but worth it.
NEXT:
Graphic Highlights Top MLB Pitchers Available In Free Agency
