I watch Japanese baseball every morning so believe me when I tell you Roki Sasaki is the real deal. Just surprised he was posted so fast, but the team getting him is going to get a steal, especially if he gets a lowballed offer due to posting rules
Because he is being posted before age 25 I believe the posting rules like Ohtani cannot be maxed out so they can give him a lowball contract and Marines basically get nothing. It's sad but I've been reading up on this all morning. Apparently he wanted to go to MLB while the stock was hot.
Guy does have some injury issues and he didn't pitch much of the 2nd half of NPB due to it, but I watched him pitch his last game before the Climax Series and he appeared dominant. He had some flubs in there this season too but his ERA was still about 2.97 this year
The most jarring thing this would have is the impact on NPB. A lot of the younger talent that drive the league are looking into going pro early. Rintaro Sasaki basically bypassed the NPB draft and went straight to America. Sasaki, who is only 23, was posted by the Marines in a huge upset.
Because of low contract requirements all 30 teams should be in the race but the Dodgers have a lot of money in their international pool reserves and should be the front runner in these sweepstakes. Anybody other than LA would be an upset.
That high leg kick he has out of the windup is crazy. He shortens it up a lot out of the stretch with men on base but wonder if teams will try to clean up his mechanics a bit.
That said, I wouldn't have much concern as a prospective team. Stuff and talent are insane.
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