The 2023-24 offseason was highly productive for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Not only did they secure the signing of Shohei Ohtani, but they also brought in, among many other useful players, Japan’s most recent sensation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto, the winner of the last three editions of the Eiji Sawamura and the Pacific League MVP awards in Japan, is one of the best talents to come along from Japan since, well, Ohtani.
He is exclusively a pitcher, though, but you can tell he is elite if the market dictated that he received the largest contract ever given to a hurler: 12 years, $325 million.
After spending a couple of weeks with his new teammates on the Dodgers, he is now ready to take the mound for what will be his first presentation in game action.
Yoshinobu, you’re up.
Today’s #DodgersST lineup at Rangers: pic.twitter.com/ovFJANr6et
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) February 28, 2024
Yamamoto will be facing the Texas Rangers, the reigning World Series champions, on Wednesday.
The lineup is full of reserves plus a couple of players expected to be regulars.
Still, Yamamoto will face his first test of the spring, and all eyes will be on him.
He is coming off a fantastic season with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s NPB: a 1.21 ERA in 164 innings, with 169 strikeouts.
He has a career 1.82 ERA in Japan, which is impressive and speaks volumes about his stuff, his command, and his poise.
Yamamoto is armed with a quality fastball that can touch the high-90s, a beautiful curveball, a splitter, and a cutter.
All are MLB-caliber, particularly the fastball and the curveball.
Fans who didn’t watch the World Baseball Classic will now get the chance to witness greatness.
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