Dai Takegami Podziewski | MLB Trade Rumors

Ohtani Ks 10 For The Fourth Time This Season

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | June 8, 2023 at 9:14am CDT

Angels ace Shohei Ohtani took the mound against the Marlins in Anaheim Saturday night for his 11th start of the season. The Japanese right-hander tossed six solid innings, allowing six singles and just one earned run while striking out 10 hitters. Ohtani’s season ERA is now at 2.91 and he leads the American League with 90 strikeouts in 65 total innings.

It was not the best start for Ohtani on Saturday, as he made a throwing error to first after making a play on a ground ball to his right. This mistake came back to haunt Ohtani, as Yuli Gurriel drove in the runner with a two-out single.

Ohtani then settled into the game, retiring eight of the next nine hitters faced, fanning four of them. He ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing consecutive singles to open the inning. It seemed like he was going escape the jam after getting Jonathan Davis to ground out into a double play to shortstop, however, he walked the next hitter and gave up a two-out RBI single to Luis Arraez.

“It wasn’t good, wasn’t bad. At least I got through six innings so that was good, but I could’ve done better in the situations that I allowed those runs,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani wrapped up his outing by striking out the final four hitters faced and finished with 109 pitches, his second-highest total on the season. Control issues affected Ohtani, who issued three walks, preventing him from being as efficient as he wanted to be.

“Walking three hitters feels pretty wasteful,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani’s sweeper usage was back up to 39% in this start, compared to the last few starts where he did not throw it more than 30%. He got 12 whiffs from the sweeper, which was back to looking like his best pitch. Seven of his strikeouts came from the sweeper. The splitter was ineffective on Saturday, with both RBI singles coming off of a splitter. Ohtani was unable to get any whiffs from the splitter in eight swings.

“The movement [of the splitter] itself isn’t bad, I think the location is the problem,” Ohtani said.

The average horizontal movement of Ohtani’s splitter was up to 10 inches compared to the season average of seven inches, according to Baseball Savant.

Ohtani’s six innings were not enough for the Angels, however, who lost 8-5 in extra innings. Despite the recent rough patch after his blistering hot start to the season, Ohtani has been a stabilizing presence in an otherwise inconsistent Angels rotation.

Ohtani will face the Astros for an AL West showdown on June 2 at 8:10 PM EST/5:10 PM PT for his next start.

NPB Watch: May Edition

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 23, 2023 at 3:37pm CDT

It’s time for an update on NPB players who may be making their way to MLB in the near future. Here are the seven players that we are keeping track of at MLBTR. Learn more about their play styles and background in the previous article.

Let’s get started.

Players likely available in the 2023 offseason (most rumored or have publicly announced desire to play in MLB)

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Orix Buffaloes

The two-time Pacific League MVP has had a “slow” start to the season by his standards. Yamamoto has been consistent and his numbers are as solid as ever, with a 2.35 ERA, 27.6 K%, 6.4 BB%, 2.15 FIP in 38 ⅓ innings, but he’s yet to have the signature performance of the season.

For reference, the Buffaloes ace’s best month last season was June, with a 0.56 ERA in four starts, most notably tossing his first career no-hitter.

Yamamoto was scratched from his planned start this past weekend due to illness but has not been limited by injury thus far, despite concerns.

2. Shota Imanaga, Yokohama DeNA Baystars

In five starts, Imanaga has a 3.48 ERA, 28.4 K%, and 1.6 BB% in 31 innings. The Baystars ace was off to a hot start to the season, tossing 8 innings of shutout ball in his season debut and following it up with a 7-inning shutout performance where he struck out 12. He’s struggled in the following two starts, however, giving up four runs in five innings and five runs in four innings respectively, and allowing a total of four homers.

In his most recent start this past weekend, Imanaga had a solid performance against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, allowing three runs in seven innings. The three runs came from two home runs, however, so the long ball continues to be an issue for the left-hander in the early going.

Imanaga officially earned his domestic free-agent rights on May 19, but remains focused on the season. “I never thought I’d be in this position to earn this [free agency], and I want to give back to everyone who has been a part of my journey,’ Imanaga said.

3. Kona Takahashi, Saitama Seibu Lions

Takahashi has had an impressive start to the year. In his eight starts, the Lions ace has an NPB-best 1.47 ERA, holding hitters to a .182 average, striking out 22.9% of hitters and walking 13.6%, in 55 innings. The biggest factor in his improvement is increased average fastball velocity, which has gone up to 94 mph, compared to 91.56 mph last season. His splitter has been the perfect complement to his improved fastball, hitters are only .068 against it.

Beyond his elite numbers, Takahashi’s strong mentality and his pride as the Lions’ ace have particularly stood out. After his most recent start where he tossed six innings of shutout ball, Takahashi said, “I wanted to be on the mound longer than the opposing pitcher. In order to continue improving, I will reflect on this start so that I can go even deeper into games.”

He outdueled Yamamoto in their April 22 matchup, holding the Buffaloes to two runs and five hits in a complete game. He almost outdueled Yamamoto again on May 6, exiting the game after six innings of one-run ball, but the bullpen was unable to keep the lead.

Takahashi has certainly met the challenge from GM Watanabe and Manager Kazuo Matsui thus far

4. Yuki Matsui, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Became the fastest pitcher in NPB to reach 200 career saves earlier in the season. The Golden Eagles closer has been dominant as ever and has not allowed an earned run in his 12 appearances. He has 6 saves on the season, and hitters are hitting just .095 against him. The lefty hasn’t gotten much work as other relievers so far, as the Eagles have the second-worst record in NPB and sit in last place in the Pacific League.

Matsui officially earned his overseas Free Agent rights on April 27. “It’s still April, so there’s not much to think about,” Matsui said in a statement.

5. Naoyuki Uwasawa, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

After a nightmarish start to the season, Uwasawa has settled down and is finding his groove. In his last four starts, he’s completed at least 7 innings and has a 2.35 ERA in 30 ⅔ innings. The Fighters right-hander has a 3.72 ERA on the season, striking out 17.9% of hitters and walking 10.8% in 46 innings.

In his most recent start, the 29-year-old right-hander tossed his first shutout since 2018 against the Saitama Seibu Lions, where he fanned 9 and allowed just 4 hits.

Younger stars to keep an eye on

1. Roki Sasaki, Chiba Lotte Marines

The “Monster of Reiwa” is off to a dominant start, posting a 0.84 ERA, fanning 43.5% of hitters while walking just 4.3%. Hitters are only hitting .124 against him, and he has a FIP of 0.65.

He’s been sidelined since his May 5 start where he exited in the 5th inning because of a blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand. He was initially scheduled to pitch on May 21 but was pushed back to May 28, after the starting rotation was reshuffled by a rain-out.

2. Munetaka Murakami, Tokyo Yakult Swallows

The young Swallows slugger had a disastrous first month of the season. In 25 games, he hit .157/.311/.265, 2 HR, 15.5 BB%, 37.9 K%, and 12 RBI in 103 plate appearances. Murakami-sama is beginning to look more like his Triple-Crown winning self in May, hitting .278/.381/.556, 4 HR, 14.3 BB%, 23.8 K%, and 10 RBI in 63 plate appearances (as of May 19).

One of the major factors in Murakami’s early season slump is his struggle to hit right-handed pitching. Murakami is hitting a measly .169 against right-handed pitching, and striking out at a 37.7% rate. The slump is also affecting his already sub-par defense at third base where he has 8 errors, the most out of all position players in NPB.

Honorable Mentions

The following players have either expressed their desire to play in the big leagues, been rumored by Japanese media, or have drawn interest from MLB scouts but have factors (age, team stance on posting system) preventing a potential move. I’ve also added top performers who may be of interest.

Kazuma Okamoto, Corner Infielder, Yomiuri Giants; Shosei Togo, right-handed starting pitcher, Yomiuri Giants; Keiji Takahashi, left-handed starting pitcher, Tokyo Yakult Swallows; Taisei Ohta, right-handed reliever, Yomiuri Giants; Hiroto Takahashi, right-handed starting pitcher, Chunichi Dragons; Kaima Taira, right-handed starting pitcher, Saitama Seibu Lions; Atsuki Yuasa, right-handed reliever, Hanshin Tigers; Shinnosuke Ogasawara, left-handed starting pitcher, Chunichi Dragons; Shunpeita Yamashita (NEW!), Orix Buffaloes; Tatsuya Imai (NEW!), Seibu Lions; Takahisa Hayakawa (NEW!), Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles; Atsuki Taneichi (NEW!), Chiba Lotte Marines

Ohtani Pivots From His Signature Sweeper, Fans Nine In Improved Start

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 23, 2023 at 2:27pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani made his 10th start of the season Sunday afternoon against the Twins. It was a bounce-back performance for the Halos ace, who ended his streak of home runs allowed and held the Twins to just two hits and one run in six innings while fanning nine. The Japanese hurler’s season ERA is down to 3.03 and is striking out hitters at a 34.6% rate. He is also leading the majors with a .142 opponent batting average.

Although he held the Twins to two hits, Ohtani regretted walking three batters and hitting one. He was able to pitch around it, however, and gave the Angels the length that they needed from him. The sole run came from a Carlos Correa double in the 3rd inning.

Ohtani has consistently provided the Angels staff with length. Sunday was the fifth time out of the last six starts that Ohtani lasted at least six innings. It was an encouraging performance for the 2021 AL MVP, who has been going through a rut on the mound.

Ohtani closed out his strong performance by striking out the side in the sixth inning. He did not get the decision, but the Angels got the win off of a Mickey Moniak go-ahead two-run double in the seventh.

The trend of decreased sweeper usage for Ohtani continued on Sunday, with usage down to 27% from his season average of over 40%. He did not throw the sweeper until the 10th pitch of the game. The adjustment comes from hitters going deep five times on the sweeper. He pivoted and instead relied heavily on his cutter and splitter.

“I kept the pitch percentages in mind,” Ohtani said. “I threw a few hittable pitches, but since they weren’t sitting on it [like the sweeper] I was able to get away with it.”

The improved approach paid dividends, as Ohtani matched his season-high of 22 whiffs that he recorded on April 21 against the Royals.

“I was trying to control the home runs and not make them feel comfortable at the plate. I was trying to make sure they were not taking good swings,” Ohtani said.

Former Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka said that even if Ohtani wasn’t throwing the sweeper, the thought of his sweeper was enough to keep hitters on their toes. He noted the pitch sequencing in Ohtani’s sixth-inning matchup with Carlos Correa.

“After getting to two strikes against Correa, his fourth pitch was a splitter on the outside to try to get him out, but this was a ball. Correa was probably expecting a sweeper next, but Ohtani elected to throw the fastball so he was late and struck out,” Matsuzaka said. “Every pitch can be an outpitch for him. I think that he reestablished himself as a pitcher who’s hard to break down.”

Ohtani’s next projected start is at home on May 28 against the Miami Marlins and their #1 pitching prospect Eury Perez at 4:07 PM EST/1:07 PM PT.

Ohtani Nearly Hits For The Cycle While Tossing Seven Innings

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 16, 2023 at 2:20pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani made his ninth start of the season Monday night against the Orioles. It was another shaky start for the Japanese right-hander, who tossed seven innings in 98 pitches, struck out five, and gave up five earned runs off of three home runs. Ohtani’s ERA for the season is now at 3.23.

Ohtani has now allowed at least three runs in four straight starts, something that has never happened in his career. It was just the third time in his career that he gave up three home runs in a start and the second time against the Orioles.

Hanging sweepers continue to haunt Ohtani, with Adam Frazier and Anthony Santander capitalizing on mistakes with two-run homers in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Although hitters are only hitting .138 against Ohtani’s sweeper, they have homered five times off of it. Last season, hitters homered off of the only sweeper six times

Heavily relying on the sweeper was not an issue against the Orioles. Ohtani’s sweeper usage was at a season-low 27% on Monday night, and he mixed in his cutter and split-fingered fastball at a higher rate, showing different looks to hitters. The problem was the poor location of sweepers at the heart of the plate.

“I’ve noticed a couple of things [about the sweeper], so if I keep making corrections it will still be effective,” Ohtani said after the game.

Ohtani also gave up a rare home run off of a fastball to Cedric Mullins in the fifth inning. He only allowed three home runs off a fastball last season, and Mullins’ homer was the first this season. He retired 13 of the last 15 hitters faced and completed seven innings.

Despite giving up multiple long balls, Ohtani allowed just four hits against the Orioles. Even with the recent four-game pitching slump, hitters are only hitting .171 against Ohtani this season.

Although it was a night to forget on the mound Ohtani more than made up for it at the plate, going 4 for 5 with 3 RBI and a walk and finishing a double-shy of the cycle. The 2021 AL MVP’s towering three-run homer traveled 456 feet and recorded an exit velocity of 114.6 mph. It was the longest homer of the season for Ohtani.

“I think there was a little anger behind that swing,” said Halos skipper Phil Nevin.”An impressive night. I know he gave up the five runs, but like I said, the damage was minimal because the hits were down and not a lot of guys on base.”

Ohtani got the chance to complete the cycle in the ninth after a Mike Trout walk but settled for a single to left field after getting behind on the count at 0-2.

“I was trying [to get a double], but I got down in the count so I wanted to make contact,” Ohtani said. “At least I was able to get a hit so that was good.”

Ohtani’s next projected start is at home against the Twins on Sunday at 4:07 PM EST/1:07 PM PST

Shohei Ohtani Outdueled By Framber Valdez

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 10, 2023 at 6:38pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani took the mound against AL West rivals Astros Tuesday night and recorded his first loss of the season, despite seven strong innings of work.

Ohtani finished the outing with 103 pitches, his second-highest total of the season, with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed. He was outdueled by Astros ace Framber Valdez, who only allowed a single run and fanned 12 in eight innings. Ohtani is now at a 2.74 ERA and has given up 12 runs over his last 18 innings.

Ohtani allowed yet another home run against the Astros, making it the third consecutive start with a home run allowed. This time it came against an unlikely opponent, defensive catcher and former teammate Martin Maldonado. The home run once again came off of Ohtani’s signature sweeper.

“The pitch location was bad, so it’s on me,” Ohtani said after the game. “I’m not hitting the spots I need to.”

Ohtani finished his start strong and came back in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the Halos in the game.

Ohtani mentioned after his previous start that he didn’t like that hitters were able to lift the ball against him. Against the Astros, he induced 13 groundballs. The increase in groundballs may be a result of his increased sinker usage. He dramatically increased his sinker usage, throwing it 32 times. In just one start, he threw his sinker as many times as all of his other starts combined.

In his last start, Kazuhiro Sasaki pointed out that Ohtani needed to adjust his game plan. Ohtani did just that. Ohtani threw his sweeper only 39% of the time, compared to his season average of nearly 50%.

The decrease in sweeper usage and change in gameplan may also have been a result of a new catching partner in Chris Okey, who was filling in for the injured Chad Wallach.

“It’s difficult for catchers to catch pitches that they haven’t seen before,” Ohtani said. “I didn’t know his blocking data, so it was weighing the risks of throwing [certain] pitches,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani threw his splitter just once, and his average horizontal movement on his sweeper was once again down to 15 inches compared to the season average of 17 inches.

Ohtani also was dealing with a cracked middle finger, but said it was not an issue.

“I didn’t really feel it and I was good in the sixth and seventh, and the pitches I threw weren’t bad so I don’t think it had a big impact,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani’s next start will be against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on May 16, 6:35 PM EST/ 3:35 PM PT.

How Much Revenue Does Shohei Ohtani Actually Generate?

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 9, 2023 at 9:47am CDT

Shohei Ohtani’s impact on the field as a two-way superstar is undisputed. Ohtani is a Cy Young-level talent on the mound, hurling 100 mph fastballs and making hitters look silly with his frisbee-like sweepers and devastating splitters. At the plate, he is one of the premier sluggers in the game, winning the Edgar Martinez Award for most valuable designated hitter in the last two seasons.

The 2021 AL MVP’s impact beyond the field is equally noteworthy.

Last October, Katsuhiro Miyamoto, renowned economist and Professor Emeritus at Kansai University, released a report on Ohtani’s economic effects in the 2022 season.

The study found that Ohtani’s economic effects totaled an estimated 45 billion Japanese Yen, approximately 337 million US dollars.

Miyamoto is a sports economics expert who has previously studied topics such as the economic impact of championship seasons of NPB teams and the economic damage sustained by the Japanese sports industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bulk of Ohtani’s economic effects came from ticket sales, merchandise sales, Ohtani’s salary and sponsorships, and MLB broadcasting rights related to Ohtani.

Ohtani’s effect on ticket sales was calculated by hypothesizing the number of fans (both home and away) who attended Angels games because of Ohtani. The total estimate resulted in 631,174 fans, which accounts for roughly ¥6 billion ($45MM) in ticket sales. Ohtani merchandise sales in the US equaled ¥984MM ($7.26MM).

The ticket and merchandise sales coupled with his salary and sponsorships brought Ohtani’s direct impact on the US economy to ¥19.4 billion ($143.6MM).

Ohtani’s direct impact on the Japanese economy was calculated through merchandise sales, travel packages for Ohtani games, and appearance fees for TV commercials, which totaled an estimated ¥1.7 billion ($12.55MM).

In addition to these direct effects on the economy, Miyamoto accounted for primary and secondary economic ripple effects on related industries to calculate the final amount.

The estimated value of Ohtani’s economic effects in the 2022 season was nearly double that of Ohtani’s groundbreaking 2021 AL MVP season, which was an estimated 24 billion Japanese Yen ($178MM). Miyamoto explained that the increased effect was a result of higher attendance at games in 2022 because of the MVP campaign and inflation.

Miyamoto, who has been conducting similar studies for years, was stunned by the findings. “These numbers are unprecedented for a single athlete,” Miyamoto said. “For example, this [economic effect] is the equivalent of a championship campaign of a popular NPB team like the Yomiuri Giants, Hanshin Tigers, or Softbank Hawks and that is considering a team having about 70 players.”

Ohtani’s economic impact could also be found during Team Japan’s championship run at the World Baseball Classic. In February, before the tournament, Miyamoto stated that Team Japan can generate nearly 59.6 billion yen ($444MM) if they won the tournament. The final number was boosted to 65 billion yen ($484MM) after the tournament by what Miyamoto calls the “Ohtani Effect.” “It took every player’s contribution for Samurai Japan to win the world championship, but this was Ohtani’s tournament,” Miyamoto said.

It’s possible that the Ohtani’s economic effects in 2023 will dwarf the 2022 estimate. A free agent to-be in the fall, Ohtani is projected to sign the largest contract in MLB history. Earlier this year, he signed a long-term deal with Boston-based apparel company New Balance. In March, Forbes reported that Ohtani will collect $65 million in total earnings, the highest-ever in MLB, for the 2023 season before taxes and agents’ fees.

“We are thankful to live in the same era where we can witness Ohtani’s greatness,” Miyamoto said.

Shohei Ohtani Matches A Babe Ruth Record Despite Rough Start

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | May 8, 2023 at 10:15am CDT

Shohei Ohtani took the mound for the first time in the month of May against the Cardinals last Wednesday night.

The 2021 AL MVP had another rough start by his standards, allowing four runs in five innings. His season ERA has now gone up to 2.54, after back-to-back starts with four or more runs allowed.

Although he only lasted five innings, Ohtani tied his career high in single-game strikeouts with 13. He has struck out 38.6% of hitters in 39 innings this season. With the 13th strikeout, Ohtani reached 500 career strikeouts in MLB. He is now the first player since Babe Ruth to have 500 career strikeouts as a pitcher and 100 home runs as a hitter.

It was the second consecutive start where Ohtani allowed multiple home runs: a solo shot from Nolan Gorman in the first inning, and a two-run homer from Dylan Carlson in the fourth.

Both home runs came off of Ohtani’s sweeper, which was not at its best. The average horizontal break on the sweeper was three inches below the season average. The drier conditions of Busch Stadium may have played a role in the reduced movement.

Ohtani was disappointed with the short start. “I wanted to get through six or seven innings, minimum, more than the strikeouts, I’m more disappointed that I didn’t get that far in the game,” Ohtani said.

Former Seattle Mariners reliever and current analyst Kazuhiro Sasaki said that it might be time for Ohtani to make adjustments to his pitch mix. “The average velocity of Ohtani’s fastball was the highest so far this year at 98 mph,” Sasaki said for Nikkan Sports. “Ohtani’s kept his pitch mix consistent this season. With more divisional games on the way, if he changes his pitch tendencies for one or two games he’ll keep teams guessing,” Sasaki said.

91% of Ohtani’s pitches on Wednesday were either sweepers or fastballs, with the occasional splitter and sinker. “It felt like they were sitting on certain pitches on certain counts,” Ohtani said. Ohtani had been using more cutters and curveballs in recent starts, but not in this game. Going back to mixing the occasional cutter and curveball, and increasing his splitter and sinker usage may be an adjustment that Ohtani can make to keep hitters on their toes.

The Angels won the game 6-4 on account of Mike Trout and Jake Lamb homers in the 9th inning.

The matchup between Ohtani and WBC teammate Lars Nootbaar was highly anticipated by Japanese media. Like the matchup against Masataka Yoshida last month, Ohtani got the upper hand. Ohtani struck out Nootbaar in all three at-bats, on a sweeper, splitter, and fastball. “It looked like he went into another gear in that matchup,” Sasaki said.

Ohtani’s next scheduled start is an AL West divisional showdown at home against the Houston Astros on May 9, 9:38PM EST/6:38PM PT.

Ohtani Overcomes Shaky Fourth Inning, Leads Angels To Win

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | April 29, 2023 at 4:28pm CDT

Shohei Ohtani’s franchise-record streak of most consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up came to an end on Thursday in his start against the Oakland Athletics, surrendering five runs in six innings.

It was smooth sailing early for the 2021 AL MVP, who tossed three perfect innings and fanned five to open the game.

Everything changed in the fourth inning, when Ohtani hit the A’s leadoff man, walked the next hitter, then gave up a three-run homer to Brent Rooker. Ohtani proceeded to hit the next batter, and then gave up a two-run homer to Shea Langliers. He surrendered five runs without recording an out, a rare sight for Ohtani considering his hot start to the year.

Ohtani bounced back from the nightmare fourth inning by keeping the A’s hitless in the fifth and sixth innings. He finished the day with 93 pitches, eight strikeouts, three hits allowed, two walks, and three hit batters. His season ERA is now at 1.82, although opposing hitters are still only hitting .102 against him.

In the postgame interview, Ohtani said that he lost his rhythm and mechanics when he was throwing slide-step with runners on base. “I haven’t thrown in a slide-step much, so I kept trying to find the right balance and timing in my mechanics. It was a technical issue rather than a mental issue.”

Ohtani believes that the outing was a good experience and said that the pre-game bullpen session and the first three innings were the best he felt all year. “That fourth inning is regrettable, but it felt really good coming back in the fifth and sixth. I’ll use it as a learning experience,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani continues to struggle with his command, despite his excellent start to the year. He has walked 13% of hitters, hit six of them, and has thrown five wild pitches.

“He’s human,” said Angels manager Phil Nevin. “You could sense it in the whole stadium, like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ But nothing was wrong with him. You have to throw it over the plate, and Major League hitters take swings, sometimes they hit them,” Nevin said.

The bigger Ohtani story on Thursday was that he nearly hit for his second career cycle. After hitting a single, a double and a triple in his previous at-bats, Ohtani stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning with one out and runners on first and second. He jumped on the first pitch, an 86 mph slider, and drove it to deep center field, but the ball was caught at the warning track.

Ohtani’s next scheduled start is against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 4th, 1:15PM EST/10:15AM PST.

Ohtani’s Hot Start On The Mound Continues, Ks 11 In 7 Scoreless

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | April 24, 2023 at 1:57pm CDT

On Star Wars Night in Anaheim, Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani shined the brightest. The two-way phenom turned in another brilliant start against the Royals on Friday, tossing seven shutout innings and striking out a season-high 11, and leading the Angels to a 2-0 win.

Ohtani’s season ERA improves to 0.64. He has struck out 32.9% of hitters and has held them to an impressive .093 batting average.

Friday’s start was the 2021 AL MVP’s first-ever start on three days of rest, thanks to the shortened start on Monday against the Red Sox. It was not an issue for Ohtani, who opened the game by striking out the side. It was the first time this season that the Japanese right-hander did not walk the leadoff hitter.

Ohtani said that he felt good despite the short rest. “I slept pretty well, and so I came in pretty fresh. I didn’t really have that [short rest] in mind,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani struck out the last six hitters to wrap up his dominant outing. Hitters whiffed on 42% of their swings, for a total of 22 whiffs, and just three of Ohtani’s pitches were hit hard into fair territory.

An interesting change in this particular start was the increased cutter and curveball usage. Ohtani threw his cutter 21 times, which is as much as he has thrown it on all of his other starts combined. He threw his curveball nine times, including one looping 68 mph pitch, and hitters whiffed on four of them.

Ohtani felt like he mixed his pitches well. “It was a good balance [of pitch types], the third time around the order I was able to mix in the curveball well,” Ohtani said. “I felt that hitters were sitting on the breaking ball, but if I threw two different types they’d have a more difficult time.”

Baseball Savant’s release point chart shows Ohtani’s consistent release point. All six pitches that Ohtani threw on Friday all come from a similar release point but have drastically different movements and speeds ranging from 68 mph to 100 mph, making it difficult for hitters to predict what pitch comes next.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said that since Ohtani calls his own pitches, he studies hitters and understands when he can use a specific pitch. “From a hitter’s standpoint, I would have no idea what to prepare for,” Nevin said.

Today’s game was the first time Ohtani was caught by Chad Wallach after Logan O’Hoppe was placed on the 10-day injured list. Ohtani was thankful for Wallach. “He was great, he framed the balls on the corners well and got me strikes,” Ohtani said. Wallach also helped out Ohtani at the plate, hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the third.

Ohtani’s next scheduled start is on April 27th against the Athletics at 4:07 EST/1:07 PT.

NPB To MLB: 7 Players To Watch

By Dai Takegami Podziewski | April 21, 2023 at 11:15am CDT

A new wave of NPB players have chosen to pursue their big-league dreams in recent years. Just this past offseason, Kodai Senga signed a five-year, $75MM deal with the Mets, Masataka Yoshida signed a five-year, $90MM deal with the Red Sox, and Shintaro Fujinami signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal with the Athletics. One offseason prior, Seiya Suzuki signed a five-year, $85MM deal.

Making the move from NPB to MLB is a complicated process. A player needs to have nine seasons of experience on the first team (i.e. the NPB “major league” club, as opposed to their minor league team) before they can become an overseas free agent. At the earliest, a player drafted out of high school becomes a free agent at age 27 and a player drafted out of college becomes one at age 31. This is a long period of time and can take even longer if a player misses time due to injury. Players who want to make the move sooner instead opt to use the NPB-MLB posting system. The posting system grants all 30 MLB teams the right to negotiate with a player after posting, but the team is subject to paying a posting fee based on the amount of guaranteed money in the contract.

The two main difficulties with the posting system are that 1.) players need their team’s permission to be posted, and 2.) players need to wait several years before being classified as “professionals” rather than “amateurs” under Major League Baseball’s international free agency standards. In order to be considered a “professional” and thus be exempt from MLB’s hard-capped bonus pool system for international amateurs, a foreign-born player must be at least 25 years of age and have at least six years of experience in a professional league (NPB, in this case). Shohei Ohtani knew this and chose to pursue a jump to MLB at age 23 anyway, limiting himself to a signing bonus a little north of $2.3MM because his age made him an “amateur.” Had he waited two more years, Ohtani could have potentially commanded 100 times that sum as a “professional” under MLB’s classifications. It was a sizable bet on himself, but it looks like one that will pay off.

Some teams are traditionally open-minded about letting players pursue their MLB dreams, most notably the Nippon Ham Fighters, while other teams such as the Yomiuri Giants and the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have traditionally not given permission to their players when they ask to be posted for MLB clubs.

This series will keep track of NPB players who may be making their way to the MLB in the near future.

Let’s get started with players who may be available in the 2023 offseason.

Players likely available in the 2023 offseason (most rumored or have publicly announced desire to play in MLB)

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a 24-year-old right-hander for the reigning Pacific League and Nippon Series champions Orix Buffaloes. He began his career as a starter but moved to the bullpen in 2018 and became one of the best relievers in NPB. He was moved back to the rotation in 2019 and established himself as an elite starter by leading the Pacific League with a 1.95 ERA.

Yamamoto has since become the undisputed ace of NPB. He’s won the Sawamura Award — the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award — and the Pacific League MVP Award in back-to-back seasons. He posted an insane 1.39 ERA, 206 strikeouts, 28% strikeout rate, and 5.4 walk rate in 2021, and followed that up with a 1.68 ERA, 205 strikeouts, a 27.4 strikeout rate, and a 5.6 walk rate in 2022. Yamamoto also won the Gold Glove award in each of those seasons. MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote more on Yamamoto back in Februrary. Some scouts believe that Yamamoto is ahead of Senga.

The Pacific League MVP relies on a deep six-pitch repertoire and elite control to pile up strikeouts. Yamamoto primarily leans on his mid-90s fastball, splitter, and curveball, but he occasionally mixes in a cutter, two-seamer, and slider. The right-hander is known for his unique training style, with a focus on flexibility and mobility as well as using javelin-like and hammer-like tools. He also has a personal chef/nutritionist to manage his diet. While he has not had a major injury so far in his career, the only concerns with the Buffaloes ace are his slight frame (5’10″, 175 pounds) and adjusting to the grueling MLB schedule. Although he has not thrown on a four-day rest schedule, he has showcased his durability by throwing over 190 innings in each of the past two seasons.

As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes wrote in his recent 2023 FA class power rankings, Yamamoto’s contract could exceed Masahiro Tanaka’s contract with the Yankees in 2014. Tim wrote: “Ten years after the Tanaka deal, I feel Yamamoto is indeed capable of reaching $200MM before accounting for a posting fee.”

Yamamoto is off to another fantastic start this season. In the two games he’s started so far, he has a 0.75 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12 innings of work.

2. Yuki Matsui

Yuki Matsui is a 27-year-old left-handed reliever for the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles. He has a career 2.46 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, 201 saves, and 68 holds in 447 appearances. Matsui has a four-pitch arsenal featuring a four-seam fastball that goes up to 96mph but averages between 92-94, a dominant splitter and slider, and a lesser-used curveball.

Matsui is on track to become a true international free agent this offseason, so he won’t need to utilize the posting system to gauge interest from MLB clubs. Japanese media is already speculating that he may sign with an MLB team. Matsui has said he is focused on the upcoming season but is open to the move. Sports Hochi reported that Matsui and the Eagles have discussed future MLB plans during contract negotiations over the years.

Matsui first hit the national spotlight as a high school player at the 2012 Summer Koshien Tournament, the Japanese equivalent of March Madness, where he set the tournament record for most strikeouts in a single game with 22, and the longest consecutive strikeouts with 10. He finished that tournament with the most strikeouts in a single tournament by a lefty with 68.

Matsui came into the league as a starter but was moved to the bullpen in 2015 and since then has consistently been one of the best closers in the NPB. Out of the seven seasons he was the primary closer, Matsui recorded over 30 saves in five of them. His only “down” year came in 2018 — he still posted a 3.34 that season — but he bounced back with a career-high 68 appearances and 38 saves in 2019. He was moved to a starting role in 2020, before ultimately moving back to the bullpen at the end of the season where he has remained until now. Matsui struggled adjusting to the WBC ball, which is closer to the MLB ball, so that may be a concern moving forward.

Despite his difficulties at the WBC, Matsui had a terrific start to the season. He’s thrown five shutout innings, recorded four saves and fanned eight of his 18 opponents (44.4%). Dating back to 2021, Matsui has a 1.26 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of relief work.

3. Shota Imanaga

Shota Imanaga is a 29-year-old left-handed starting pitcher for the Yokohama DeNa Baystars. Fans might recognize Imanaga’s name after his start for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic final against Team USA. The left-hander has a 3.24 ERA, 24.3 strikeout rate, 7.3 walk rate and 854 2/3 innings in 136 career starts. He had a career year last season, posting a 2.26 ERA, 23.6 strikeout rate and 5.2 walk rate in 143 2/3 innings. He also recorded his first no-hitter in June.

The Baystars ace primarily throws four pitches, including a 91-94 mph fastball, a changeup that is close to a split-change, a cutter, and a curveball, while occasionally mixing in a slider. While he does not have an overpowering fastball, he has elite command and uses his changeup to get strikeouts. He had shoulder surgery in 2020 but has made a full recovery, and shoulder trouble hasn’t been a recurring issue for him.

Imanaga has expressed his desire to pitch in the big leagues since 2021 but won’t be an overseas free agent until the 2025 season. Sponichi reported in December that Imanaga planned to sign with the U.S.-based agency Octagon to help talks toward a posting agreement. The Baystars have never posted a player before, so it is unclear if they are open to posting Imanaga. However, Imanaga is set to become a domestic free agent within NPB this offseason, so if the Baystars do not allow Imanaga to go to the big leagues, he could potentially move to another NPB team.

Imanaga is yet to pitch for the first team this season as the Baystars manage his workload after pitching for Team Japan. He’s completed his minor league starts with no complications and is set to make his regular-season debut with the first team soon.

4. Kona Takahashi

Kona Takahashi is a 26-year-old right-handed starter for the Saitama Seibu Lions who had his career-best season last year. In his 26 starts, Takahashi recorded a 2.20 ERA and struck out 18.2% of hitters faced in 175 2/3 innings. He was wilder earlier in his career, walking more than 12% of his opponents, but has improved his command more recently. Takahashi has a career 3.55 ERA, 17.4% strikeout rate, and 9% walk rate in 133 starts. He primarily relies on four pitches: a fastball that sits at around 93-95mph, a splitter, a slider, and a cutter, while occasionally throwing a curveball.

Takahashi called MLB “the world’s greatest peak” and said he was inspired by former teammate and now Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. “Yusei-san changed my baseball career. I want to give back to him by performing at the highest level and even surpassing him,” Takahashi said. He attended Game 4 of the 2022 World Series in Philadelphia and said “The atmosphere was amazing and I thought that I’d love to pitch here [in MLB].”

Despite Takahashi’s wishes, the Lions may not post him this offseason. Lions GM Hisanobu Watanabe said that there are no plans as of right now to post Takahashi. “We’ve just listened to his [Takahashi’s] wishes at this point. We’ve discussed things of that nature with him before, but it’s not a story of when we are going to post him,” Watanabe said. The right-hander wants to be posted in the near future since the earliest he can earn his overseas free-agent rights is 2026. The good news for Takahashi is that his manager is former New York Met Kazuo Matsui, who is open-minded about the possible move. “If he reaches another level as an ace, he might get closer to that goal,” Matsui said.

Takahashi is doing his best to reach that next level, with a 0.39 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 23 innings pitched in his three starts. He has not given up a run in 18 consecutive innings.

5. Naoyuki Uwasawa

Naoyuki Uwasawa is a 29-year-old right-handed starter for the Nippon Ham Fighters who has a 3.29 ERA, 19.9% strikeout rate, and 8% walk rate in 148 career starts. The right-hander throws a variety of pitches, including a low-90s fastball, cutter, slider, splitter, knuckle curve, changeup, and a two-seam fastball (usage in that order). His four-seam fastball was hit hard last season, with opponents batting .272 against it.

Uwasawa announced his desire to pitch in the majors at his contract negotiations last December and requested to be posted in the 2023 offseason. He said that he was inspired when he participated in the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like to play in a league with players coming from around the globe, and it’s the type of experience I can’t miss if I have the chance to. I only have a limited amount of time to take on the challenge, so if I have the opportunity I would take it,” Uwasawa said. Uwasawa began working with Driveline last offseason to help prepare his transition to the big leagues, looking to optimize his pitching mechanics and improve the quality of his slider.

Uwasawa has had a poor start to the season, with a 6.46 ERA and 16.9% walk rate through 15 1/3 innings in his three starts.

Younger stars to keep an eye on

The following players are already some of the biggest stars in the NPB, but are likely unavailable until the 2025-26 offseason due to their age.

1. Munetaka Murakami

Munetaka Murakami, nicknamed Mura-Kamisama (Mura-God), is a 23-year-old corner infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. He burst onto the scene in 2019, with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs, winning the Central League Rookie of the Year Award in the process. He was the back-to-back Central League MVP in 2021 and 2022. Murakami has a career slash line of .281/.405/.583, hitting 160 homers and driving in 430 runs, along with a .988 OPS and 166 wRC+. Murakami’s 2022 season was nothing short of historic. He batted .318/.458/.710 with 56 home runs and 134 RBIs, along with a jaw-dropping 1.168 OPS, 221 wRC+ and 10.3 WAR. He became the youngest-ever Triple Crown winner in NPB and set the single season record for home runs hit by a Japanese player.

Murakami’s leap in 2022 can likely be attributed to overcoming hard-thrown fastballs. Hitting high velocities was a weakness early in his career, with batting averages of .088 in 2019, .167 in 2020, and .229 in 2021 against fastballs thrown over 150 km/h (93.75 mph). In 2022, Murakami hit .327 against those pitches. Consistent growth in this area will be essential to Murakami’s success in MLB, where the average velocity is higher than the NPB. Murakami is not necessarily known for his defense at third base. In 2022, he recorded 15 errors, the second-highest in all of NPB and the most among third basemen. If he cannot improve his defense as he did with his contact against higher velocity, he most likely projects to be a first baseman in MLB.

Murakami signed a three-year deal this past offseason that came with a guarantee that he will be posted in the 2025-26 offseason. By 2025, Murakami will be 25 years old and shed his “amateur” status under MLB rules, thus exempting him from the bonus pool system. There is a clause that will allow him to get posted sooner if the age-25 rule is lowered.

Murakami has had a slow start to the season, hitting just .189/.328/.373 with two homers and a 33.3% strikeout rate in a small sample of 66 plate appearances. The good news is that he is walking in 18.2% of plate appearances, and hitting .375 with runners in scoring position.

2. Roki Sasaki

Roki Sasaki is a 21-year-old right-handed starter for the Chiba Lotte Marines, known as “The Monster of Reiwa”, who is entering his fourth season in NPB. Sasaki has been highly scouted since his high school days, throwing 100mph fastballs with ease. He was drafted in 2019 by the Marines, who took a patient approach to his development. The 6’3″ right-hander clearly had an outstanding arsenal, but teams were concerned about his thin frame, in-game stamina, and the repeatability of his mechanics. He did not pitch in 2020 and only started in 11 games and pitched 63 1/3 innings in 2021.

The Marines’ patience paid off, with Sasaki quickly becoming one of the most dominant starters in NPB. In his first full year in the Marines’ rotation, the phenom recorded a 2.20 ERA and 1.70 FIP, striking out 35.3% of hitters while walking just 4.7% in 129 1/3 innings. Sasaki became the 16th pitcher in the history of NPB to pitch a perfect game last April, and followed up the performance by throwing eight more perfect innings in his next outing, before getting pulled with 102 pitches. In the 17 perfect innings, Sasaki struck out 33 of the 51 batters faced. Sasaki has a three-pitch mix, a fastball that averages between 99-101mph and tops out at 104mph, a devastating splitter, and a slider.

As of right now, there is no clear timetable for Sasaki’s jump to Major League Baseball. Sasaki will not hit the professional experience threshold and does not turn 25 years old until 2026, so unless he takes the Ohtani route of posting before age 25, the earliest that Sasaki will make his MLB debut is in 2027. Sasaki said in March that “Before thinking about the timing of moving to the majors, playing in Japan comes first, and I think that things will become more clear after that.”

Sasaki has picked up right where he left off last season and has yet to allow a run in his two starts. Last week, he outdueled Yamamoto and shut down the Buffaloes, only allowing one hit and striking out 11 in seven innings.

Honorable Mentions

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