MLBTR Free Agent Power Rankinga

[Revad]

Yamamoto would keep the Japanese market in play if Ohtani leaves.
 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/06/2023-24-mlb-free-agent-power-rankings-june-edition.html

1. Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, Angels

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Orix Buffaloes (Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball): Many people have wondered what type of contract Ohtani might have originally commanded if he’d waited two years to jump to Major League Baseball. Because he opted to make the jump at 23 years of age, he was considered an “amateur” under MLB rules and thus limited to the confines of MLB’s international free agent system. Since he’s not also a world class hitter, Yamamoto won’t give us an exact answer to that now-unanswerable Ohtani hypothetical, but he’ll show us what a 25-year-old ace can command under true open-market pricing if and when the Buffaloes post him, as expected.

Yamamoto, 25 in August, is one of the best pitchers in NPB and perhaps one of the most talented arms on the planet. The right-hander made his NPB debut as an 18-year-old rookie in 2017, stepped into the Buffaloes’ rotation full-time in 2019, and has pitched to a sub-2.00 ERA in four of the past five seasons, including this year’s current mark of 1.98. The lone exception was 2020, when his ERA ballooned all the way to… ahem, 2.20. Yamamoto has a sub-2.00 ERA in his career, and that’s including the 5.32 mark he posted in that age-18 rookie season.

3. Matt Chapman, 3B, Blue Jays
4. Lucas Giolito, SP, White Sox

5. Julio Urias, SP, Dodgers

6. Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies

7. Blake Snell, SP, Padres

8. Josh Hader, RP, Padres

9. Marcus Stroman, SP, Cubs

10. Jordan Montgomery, SP, Cardinals
 

 

 

 

 

 

[OhtaniSan]

If we cant resign Ohtani this winter, pivoting to Yamamoto could be a move that makes a lot of sense. He's a TOR arm and highly marketable in the sense that Arte could retain a presence in Japanese/Asian media.

[FromJapan]

On 6/30/2023 at 8:02 AM, Revad said:

Yamamoto would keep the Japanese market in play if Ohtani leaves.
 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/06/2023-24-mlb-free-agent-power-rankings-june-edition.html

1. Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, Angels

2. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Orix Buffaloes (Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball): Many people have wondered what type of contract Ohtani might have originally commanded if he’d waited two years to jump to Major League Baseball. Because he opted to make the jump at 23 years of age, he was considered an “amateur” under MLB rules and thus limited to the confines of MLB’s international free agent system. Since he’s not also a world class hitter, Yamamoto won’t give us an exact answer to that now-unanswerable Ohtani hypothetical, but he’ll show us what a 25-year-old ace can command under true open-market pricing if and when the Buffaloes post him, as expected.

Yamamoto, 25 in August, is one of the best pitchers in NPB and perhaps one of the most talented arms on the planet. The right-hander made his NPB debut as an 18-year-old rookie in 2017, stepped into the Buffaloes’ rotation full-time in 2019, and has pitched to a sub-2.00 ERA in four of the past five seasons, including this year’s current mark of 1.98. The lone exception was 2020, when his ERA ballooned all the way to… ahem, 2.20. Yamamoto has a sub-2.00 ERA in his career, and that’s including the 5.32 mark he posted in that age-18 rookie season.

Yamamoto had first complete game (125 NP, 13 K) of this season, got 8th win on July 8, 2023 (JST).

Stats in English: Yamamoto, Yoshinobu (NPB Official Page)

His team won the Pacific League in 2021 and 2022 and the Japan Series in 2022, mainly due to the contributions of Yamamoto and Yoshida (Red Sox).

In 2017, the year before Ohtani joined the Angels, he played against Yamamoto.
At that time, his evaluation of Yamamoto was, "He throws the best pitch I've played against this year."

Reference in Japanese: https://bravy.net/yamamoto-yoshinobu/685/

Edited July 9, 2023 by FromJapan
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