Japanese Pitcher Shohei Otani Has Been Clocked at 101 MPH

Two-way Japanese player Shohei Otani might be the best pitcher in the world who is not yet playing in the major leagues.

About the only thing lacking in Shohei Otani’s game is a superhero nickname. You’ve probably heard of the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the major leagues, a guy by the name of Noah Syndergaard, who goes by the superhero name “Thor.” Syndergaard got the nickname after tweeting a picture of himself dressed as the blonde superhero while doing squats on Halloween in 2013.

Syndergaard has a fastball that averages 98 mph, tops in the major leagues among all starting pitchers. There’s a pitcher you probably haven’t heard of who is lighting up the radar gun on the other side of the planet. Japanese pitcher Shohei Otani of the Nippon-Ham Fighters had a game recently in which he threw 31 pitches at 99 mph or faster. He’s been clocked as high as 101 mph, which is the record for Nippon Professional Baseball Organization pitchers.

Otani has been a star pitcher in Japan since his high school days. He was the #1 pick of the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2012 despite announcing that he would pursue a career in Major League Baseball rather than turn professional in Japan. The Ham Fighters chose him anyway, and after a month of negotiations they signed him to a contract. Otani then announced he would put off a possible move to the U.S. and play in the Japanese league.

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Otani made the All-Star team as an 18-year-old rookie in 2013, although his statistics were not All-Star caliber. He started 11 games that year and was 3-0 with a 4.38 ERA. He also played 54 games in the outfield and hit .238/.284/.376.

He came into his own in 2014. Not only did he go 11-4 with a 2.61 ERA as a pitcher, he also hit .274/.338/.505 with 10 home runs in 234 plate appearances as a hitter, often playing DH when he wasn’t on the mound. His 11 wins and 10 home runs made him the first Japanese player in history to reach double digits in both categories. In the 2014 postseason, Otani started a game against a squad of U.S. major league players. He gave up two unearned runs in four innings and seven of the 12 outs he recorded were strikeouts. His stuff was very impressive.

Last year, Otani struggled with the bat, hitting .202/.252/.376, but had his best season on the mound. In 22 starts, he was 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 196 strikeouts in 160.2 innings. He started the All-Star Game and finished third in MVP voting, although he was the top vote-getter among pitchers.

As good as he was as a 20-year-old in 2015, Otani has been even better in 2016. He’s still throwing straight gas and has a 2.42 ERA in 12 starts, but his bat has been making some noise again this season. He’s hitting .333/.424/.667 in 125 plate appearances as a DH when he’s not on the mound. The production is supported by improved plate discipline. After striking out 36 percent of the time in 2015, Otani has cut his strikeout rate down to 22 percent this year. He’s also doubled his walk rate from 7 percent to 14 percent.

If Otani was in the U.S. and not yet on a major league team, he would be mentioned right along with the best pitching prospects in baseball. He throws a high-90s fastball, a high-80s splitter, a low-80s slider and a sharp-breaking curveball that buckles the knees in the mid-70s. He looks ready to step right into a major league rotation right now as a 21-year-old.

So when might we expect to see Otani jump to the Major Leagues? It’s really hard to know. Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote that Otani won’t be eligible for international free agency until after the 2021 season, but Scott Mowers of SB Nation suggested that Otani might have a handshake agreement with the Ham Fighters to be posted to MLB whenever he desires. Then there’s the issue of Otani being a two-way player. He seems to really enjoy being able to hit as well as pitch, but you rarely see such players in MLB.

Jim Allen of the Kyodo News tweeted that Otani may be more willing to come to the U.S. if a team would let him pitch and hit. That would suggest an American League team would be a more desirable landing place because Otani could DH on days he’s not pitching. Of course, it’s far more likely that he would have to give up being a two-way player.

Otani was with the Ham Fighters at the San Diego Padres facility during Spring Training when the Japanese team played a series of exhibition games against a Korean professional team. Otani was impressive on the mound. Padres manager Andy Green said, “He’s clearly very gifted. There wouldn’t be so much hype about him if he wasn’t. He has a lot of talent.”

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The Japan Times reported that more than 50 general managers and scouts from major league teams watched him pitch. If and when he comes to the U.S., there will be a feeding frenzy for his services.