Takeaways from The World Baseball Classic

I was a huge fan of the World Baseball Classic. As a fantasy sports fan, it was nirvana for me. And to be honest, who cares what the Mad Dog or Michal Kay thought about it as a sporting event? It ended with a matchup we can’t see in an All Star game or a World Series. The showdown between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout was an instant classic. And as the two guys who carried their respective flags on to the field, it was a fitting finish to the classic. But let’s look a little more closely at the performers who distinguished themselves.

In this past season in Japan, two performers stood out for scouts. Roki Sasaki and Munetaka Murakame caught the imagination in 2022 with their performances. Sasaki was on the verge of back to back perfect games but his manager pulled him after a high pitch count. Murakame set a new record with 56 home runs in the regular season in Japan. Sasaki hit the radar gun several times at 102 mph in the semi-final vs. Mexico. And Murakame got Japan on the board vs. USA in the final with a massive 440-foot home run. The crazy part is that they are still just 21 and 23 years of age respectively. And Murakame has already got his team to agree to be posted after the 2025 season so that he can play here in the United States in 2026.

And heck, if you want to see Japan’s cleanup hitter from the Classic this season in 2023, tune into a Red Sox games and check out Masataka Yoshida. In 7 years of Nippon Professional Baseball, he had a strikeout rate of 9.4% but a walk rate of 13.1%. There is some talk that his home runs will be limited to around 20, but Boston has announced that he will bat cleanup for them, and with Mexico leading 3-0 in the semi-final game, his home run paved the way for a comeback. I will reserve judgement on Yoshida’s power but his 80 walks alongside 40 strikeouts in 2022 paint a rich picture for me. His Average Draft Position has been 170, reflecting a perception that he won’t contribute enough stolen bases or home runs to go any earlier. I would peg him at 120 and in a 12 team league, I would grab him if he is undrafted by Round #10.

If you play in a dynasty league which allows you to stash prospects there is a strong rumor that Japanese ace Yoshinobo Yamamoto is going to be posted by the Orix Buffaloes. The 24 year old has won the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award in each of the last two seasons. Though listed as 5-foot-10 inches tall, scouting reports on Yamamoto clearly say he is 5-foot-9. Whenever I see 5-9 I think of Tom Gordon, and Yamamoto’s stats speak for his talent. View him as no less than a #2 starter, and for the right team he could be a clear ace. The top pitching prospect per Baseball America at #5 overall is Philadelphia’s Andrew Painter, who is nursing an arm injury this spring. I would invest in Yamamoto before I would invest in Painter, who may still be at risk of needing the dreaded Tommy John surgery.

If you caught the semi-final game between Japan and Mexico, you saw Mexico’s Patric Sandoval throw a dominant start for Mexico. He struck out 6 in 4-1/3 innings and if not on a strict pitch count it’s possible that Mexico could have upset Japan. Sandoval’s changeup has become a lethal pitch and is his strongest swing and miss pitch. His 96 mph fastball is actually his third best pitch and he throws his slider and changeup with more frequency. Sandoval has been on many a breakout list over the last two seasons but it all seemed to come together the other night vs. Japan. Keep an eye on Sandoval this year, he has a ridiculously low Average Draft Position of 202. He is the 79th pitcher being taken in drafts this year. If you are in Round #15 of your draft and Sandoval has not been taken, race out and grab him.

While Japan clearly sent some of their top players and nearly every one of their aces including Yu Darvish, Kodai Senga did not go. Pitching in a rotation with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, he can comfortably settle in as the Mets’ #3 or #4 starter. I expect him to do very well as he flashes his high 90’s fastball and devastating forkball. At age 30 and with 11 seasons in Japan he is experienced and could easily 160 innings of quality innings for the Mets. His ADP at around 200 sounds about right.