Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is poised to become of the most coveted free agents of the current offseason after he goes through the posting process and becomes available to MLB teams. That brings us to what figures to be his final act as a member of the Orix Buffaloes — Yamamoto’s start in Game 6 of the Japan Series. As you’re about to see, it was a memorable and dominant one:
As noted, that’s a Japan Series record for strikeouts, and NPB is much more of a contact-oriented league than MLB is. Here’s a sampling:
Besides having ace-like stuff and results, Yamamoto is also just 25 years of age, which makes him exceptionally young as free agents go. All of that is why we ranked him No. 2 on our list of top 50 free agents of this offseason. He trails only Shohei Ohtani. Here’s part of our write-up on Yamamoto:
Yamamoto is a five-time All-Star, a three-time ERA champion, and a two-time Triple Crown champion in NPB. Last year, he won the Pacific League’s equivalents of the MVP and Cy Young Awards. He is, in our estimation, the best pitcher in the world to have never suited up for an MLB team. Oh, and he just celebrated his 25th birthday in August. Talent evaluators have raved to CBS Sports about Yamamoto for years, citing his high-grade command over a good arsenal as the most impressive part of his game. He throws a mid-90s fastball about half the time, complementing it with a swing-and-miss splitter and a high-spin curveball. Each of those pitches went for a strike at least 65% of the time this season, reinforcing the notion that he paints with a fine-tip brush. There’s more than enough precedent to feel confident in Yamamoto making an easy adjustment to the MLB ball and schedule. In turn, there’s no reason for teams to hold back in their bidding, rendering it highly likely that he shatters Masahiro Tanaka’s record $155 million contract.
Given that every team could use a 25-year-old with ace upside, the competition for Yamamoto’s services should be intense. His stirring last start in his native Japan certainly set the tone for what should be one of the more interesting non-Ohtani subplots of the hot stove season.
