After Ohtani, Yamamoto: Five Japanese baseball stars ready to change MLB

5. Kona Takahashi, 26-year-old RHP

Takahashi has a few more miles on him than the other players on this list, with nearly 200 games and more than 1,159 innings under his belt since entering NPB as an 18-year-old. He’s more of a proven product as well, one who seems to be getting better with age.

Last season, Takahashi pitched to a 2.21 ERA and 120 strikeouts for the Saitama Seibu Lions, the team that picked him in the first round of the 2014 NPB draft. He’s had an up-and-down career since then, but his most recent starts have been his best. In 2023, he led the NPB in complete games, ranked fourth in wins, ranked second in ERA (only behind Yamamoto) and second in shutouts.

He’s now throwing a 97.5 mile-per-hour fastball along with a slider, cutter and changeup variety known as a “forkball” — a potent mix that could fill the many starting pitcher gaps across MLB. 

4. Shugo Maki, 25-year-old infielder

Maki is a 25-year-old first and second baseman for the Yokohama BayStars, which drafted him in the second round in 2020 and slotted him in the three hole on Opening Day as a rookie. That season, he hit for the cycle and set NPB records for the most doubles in consecutive at-bats.

In 2021, he slashed .314/.356/.534 with 22 homers and 71 RBI while logging a near-perfect fielding percentage at second base. In 2022, he had another 24 homers. Last season, he made it 29 with a .293/.337/.530 slash line.

With superb fielding skills and a proven ability to hit for average and power, Maki could soon get the chance to show what he can do in MLB lineups.

3. Hiroya Miyagi, 22-year-old LHP

A teenaged Miyagi was a first-round pick for the NPB’s Orix Buffaloes in 2019. The next season, pitching in the Japanese minor league system, he racked up six wins with a 2.72 ERA before being promoted to the big league club for three games, where his ERA jumped up to 3.94.

In 2021, pitching for the big league NPB Buffaloes in 23 games and 147 innings, Miyagi showed off why he has a chance to be a high-impact pitcher in any league around the world. He totaled 13 wins with a 2.51 ERA and 131 strikeouts in those games, earning the 2021 Pacific League Rookie of the Year title by more than 200 votes and receiving the fourth-most votes in the league’s MVP race. 

In 2022 and 2023, Miyagi continued to demonstrate consistency, longevity and dominance, leading NPB in shutouts last season. At just 22 years old, he seems destined to face MLB hitters in the near future.

2. Roki Sasaki, 22-year-old RHP

Sasaki is a renowned pitching phenom who overshadows his southpaw counterpart Miyagi in the bulk of scouting reports — particularly after he pitched a 19-strikeout perfect game last year.

In a 2023 season limited by injury, he posted a 1.78 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 91 innings. These statistics, combined with his 6-foot-4 frame and a pitch mix that includes a triple-digit fastball and trapdoor splitter, have MLB teams salivating. Sasaki is likely to command a Yamamoto-level contract, possibly in the $300 million range, when he almost inevitably decides to sign with an MLB team.

“When you’re the next Shohei Ohtani, the expectations are going to be sky high,” MLB.com’s David Adler wrote. “So they were for Sasaki as he entered NPB. He has only exceeded them.”

1. Munetaka Murakami, 23-year-old infielder

Sasaki may be a unicorn on the mound, but Murakami is widely considered to be the best hitter outside of MLB.

As a 19-year-old, the first and third baseman set an NPB record for homers by a teen with 36 and won the league’s Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, the lefty slugger slashed .307/.427/.585; finished in the top 10 for BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, hits, runs, doubles, hits, steals, walks and more; and was voted the NPB Central League’s best first baseman. In 2021, he won the league’s MVP Award with 287 of the 306 first-place votes, then won it unanimously in 2022 after hitting 56 homers — a record for a Japanese player.

In six seasons with the Yakult Swallows, Murakami has averaged a .965 OPS and nearly 32 HRs per season. He also made a major mark during the 2023 World Baseball Classic, where he hit a critical walk-off, two-run double in the semifinal against Mexico and smashed a first-pitch homer off Merrill Kelly in the second inning to tie the championship game against team USA.

Murakami has said he’d like to join the Show as soon as possible, and whenever that is, we’ll get to see what the best hitter outside of MLB can do once he’s in it.