Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a high-quality pitcher. We discovered him during the World Classic, but in Japan he has been a star for a long time.
The pitcher is constantly voted Gunner of the Year in Japan and clearly, we know that MLB clubs want to see him.
We know he is capable of getting up in big moments. He helped Japan win in March, threw a scoreless game in front of MLB scouts…
And there, he has just been brilliant while his team, in the playoffs, faced elimination.
In the Japan Series, the gunner needed to win to force a match #7. And he did it in 138 pitches in a performance of nine innings and one earned run.
He broke the record for strikeouts on three strikes (14) in a game of the Japan Series. Yu Darvish, at the time, had 13.
It is important to remember that the pitcher will be available this winter in the MLB. He was already expected to be in great demand.
But what he has just done is impressive.
Aside from Shohei Ohtani, who is in a class of his own, we should expect to see Yamamoto and Blake Snell be the two most in-demand pitchers this winter.
Yamamoto could command a salary of around $200 million, which would be a record for a pitcher coming from Japan.
All the teams that have the budget are in the race. He wouldn’t necessarily have a preference with the West or the East and he would like to play for a big club.
His record will be fascinating to follow.
- Will Eduardo Rodriguez and the Tigers get along?
- Unsurprisingly, Cody Bellinger is free.
- Justin Turner is a free agent.
