MLB: Time May Be Right for Shohei Otani to Come Over

By David Hill | May 12, 2016

Sep 18, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; An official MLB baseball sits on the mound to be used in the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

The upcoming free agent class for starting pitchers in the MLB is mediocre at best. Could the Nippon Ham Fighters look to cash in by posting starting pitcher/outfielder Shohei Otani?

Recently, we took a look at the top prospective free agent starting pitchers after Stephen Strasburg signed an extension with the Nationals. Needless to say, that list, fronted by pitchers like Andrew Cashner and Mat Latos, is not exactly going to break the bank for MLB teams looking to upgrade their rotation. In fact, it could make the trade market this offseason quite interesting.

There is, however, one possible wild card to those mediocre options. The Nippon Ham Fighters have a pitcher who may be one of the more intriguing arms ever to come over from Japan in Shohei Otani. While numerous pitchers have had success in the Japanese Leagues and have come over to the MLB, none of those pitchers have had the same package that Otani possesses.

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The first thing that stands out is that Otani, unlike many of his countrymen that have come stateside, is still quite young. He does not turn 22 until the 5th of July, giving teams a chance to watch him develop into his prime. Considering that Otani, at age 20, posted a season comparable to Yu Darvish‘s best season in the Japanese League, it may not be a surprise that he is considered arguably the best young pitcher in the world.

Otani is also not just a pitcher. An outfielder for the Ham Fighters when he is not on the mound, he is beginning to show more power. He already had a double digit home run season two years ago at age 19, and recently, he became the first pitcher/position player in Japanese League history to hit home runs in three consecutive games.

A look at the leaderboards shows the talent that Otani has. He is currently third in the league in home runs with six, and has posted a .309/.371/.691 batting line. On the pitching side, he is tied for the league lead with 58 strikeouts in his 50.2 innings of work; his 1-3 record not indicative of his 3.02 ERA and 1.145 WHiP. It is understandable that a scout told Nick Cafardo that Otani would likely be an All-Star player either on the mound or in the outfield.

It may also be with the time for the Ham Fighters to post Otani as well this offseason. Even though he would still be under team control, there is every likelihood that Otani would bolt to go stateside in free agency. At least, if the Ham Fighters do post their star pitcher, they would be guaranteed to receive the $20 Million maximum posting fee, even though that restriction may well keep Otani overseas for now.

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It has been quite some time since the MLB has had a true two way player. Shohei Otani could not only be that player in the majors, but he could be a star at both positions. Now, it is just a matter of seeing whether or not the Ham Fighters look to cash in on Otani during a weak free agent class.