The Los Angeles Dodgers added the second-best free agent on the open market this past offseason, Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto may be a question mark as he enters his first MLB season, but a ton of teams had him on their radar and hoped they could secure his talents. Luckily for the Dodgers, they were able to sign him to a mega deal.
While the $325 million he signed for has been questioned, there is no denying his talent.
He has all the tools to succeed in the major leagues, but it will take some time. In his first outing, he looked splendid, but he only pitched in two innings. After that, there has been a series of highs and lows, which is expected for a rookie in the big leagues.
It won't be all sunshine and rainbows with Yamamoto, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts knows it. In a recent interview with the media, including LA Times columnist Noah Furtado, Roberts spoke about the Japanese ace.
“The biggest learning curve, which we’re going to continue to learn more from and about, is what pitches play, how his stuff plays going through a lineup one time, two times, three times,” Roberts said.
The 25-year-old was hot and cold in his spring training outings. He collected a 0-1 record in three starts with an abysmal 8.38 ERA, 14 strikeouts, and a 1.97 WHIP in 9.2 innings. Don't get used to those types of stats from Yamamoto with the regular season beginning.
He is a top pitcher in this league when he is right. It will take some time, but eventually, he will look like the pitcher we saw in Japan. The righty ace is too talented not to be in the conversation for the best pitcher in the league in due time.
Relax and be patient. The Dodgers have themselves an ace-level pitcher in this league. His journey will all start on Thursday in his first-ever major league start against the San Diego Padres in Korea.
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