I surely didn't see it coming, and you may have not, either. But in a Pitching starved Free Agency class, the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) is starting to send out their best arms to help MLB teams for 2024 and beyond. In 2023 MLB only had eight Japanese players, six of them being able to pitch (Shohei Ohtani being the leagues only Two-Way Player) the other two being Outfielders.
Just today, LHP Shota Imanaga and RHP Naoyuki Uwasama were officially posted by their teams. Last week it was three-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner (Japans version of the Cy Young Award) in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. That's almost half of what's in the Majors already, if you're keeping count. And we're not even looking at Jung Hoo Lee, star Outfielder from Korea who's already been link to the Yankees. He will hopefully be officially a Free Agent as his request to play in the States has been granted by his team, and they sent over the required medical records and posting paperwork to the MLB this week.
Player Profiles
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto - Yoshinobu has been hands down the best Japanese pitcher over the last three years with three consecutive Eiji Sawamura Awards and three consecutive Triple Crowns (Wins, ERA, Strikeouts) along with two no-hitters to go with a WBC Title for Team Japan in the 2023 tournament. At just 25 years old, Yamamoto could easily eclipse the $25M+ a year number, over at least 5 years. No matter where he lands, he'll be the Ace of the staff only behind Shohei Ohtani, if they were to sign with the same team.
- Shota Imanaga - After Yoshinobu, predicting numbers and years gets a lot harder, but this is what I can tell you avbout Shota. He was a first round pick in the 2015 NPB Draft, has a lifetime 3.18 ERA along with a 64-50 record in the NPB; he, just like Yoshinobu, is an NPB All-Star and has also thrown a no-hitter in his career and also represented Team Japan in the 2023 WBC. From 2021-23, he's posted a 2.51 ERA, 27-15 record, with 479 Strikeouts. He is certainly no slouch, and may as well be the left-handed Ace coming from Japan.
- Naoyuki Uwasawa - At 29 years old, Uwasawa is only a year younger than Shota Imanaga, and 4 years older than Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But, he sits on the opposite end of the spectrum as a Relief Pitcher, and the only one that we know of being posted this offseason. He does, however, have experience as a Starter, but hasn't been one since 2017. Over the last three seasons, he has been a long man in the bullpen, never appearing in more than 25 games in a season (NPB hosts a 143-game season), but has thrown 160 to 170 innings each of those seasons. Over 173 Games and 50 Starts, Uwasawa has a 3.19 ERA, 70-62 record, and 913 Strikeouts. He will make for a fine Reliever in the MLB.
- Jung Hoo Lee - Lee is our only KBO player, and is coming off of a injury shortened season. It was also the ONLY season that he has not played in more than 100 games, only appearing in 86. But, in those 86 games, he hit for a healthy .318 average, and drove in 45 Runs over 387 Plate Appearances. He also is only 25 years old, just like Yamamoto, and hits from the Left side of the plate. He can also play all three Outfield positions. His power is not outstanding, as his best year was when he hit 23 Homers, which happened in 2022. Once his posting paperwork goes through and all MLB teams are notified, he will have a 30-day window to negotiate a contract.