It’s time for another cycle of prospect lists, and as I’ve become accustomed to doing for the last few seasons, I’m starting with scouting reports on pro players in foreign leagues, with a focus on players available for MLB free agency this offseason. On The Board, you can see a fresh batch of scouting reports and evaluations for relevant players from Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, as well as reports on some young players I’ve identified as potentially impactful long-term prospects. For those who need a crash course on the age- and pro experience-driven lines of demarcation that dictate how MLB teams sign international players, I’d point you to a number of MLB.com glossary entries, including those on international free agency for those in Asian pro leagues, international amateur free agency and bonus pool restrictions, the Japanese posting system, and the Korean posting system.
It can be overwhelming to sift through so many different types of players on that section of The Board — it’s a real apples and oranges situation when we’re talking about some guys who are in their 30s and others who are still teenagers — so I’ve got many of them broken into digestible subgroups below. You’ll notice that some players appear across multiple categories. The Board has each player’s full scouting report and tool grades — think of this as more of a table of contents.
Roki Sasaki, SP, Chiba Lotte Marines
Sasaki gets his own section because he’s a huge star, a potential top-of-the-rotation MLB starter with a looming posting. In August, I wrote a lot about Sasaki and what his market would look like were he to be posted this offseason. Everything in that article still holds water, including the remaining 2024 international pool amounts, which I checked in on again over the weekend and which are still correct. Go read that piece if you haven’t already and then come back here.
Now we wait to see if Sasaki will be posted early enough to qualify for the 2024 signing period or late enough to be part of 2025. As I wrote in the linked article, things would be much messier if Sasaki and the Marines wait until the latter window. A greater number teams could theoretically offer Sasaki more money in 2025, but the signing team would likely be breaking verbal agreements with other players to do so. There would be bottlenecking of other amateur deals as clubs waited for Sasaki to eliminate them before moving on to sign the players with whom they have handshake deals, and there might even be some poaching during that window. There’s much more opportunity for malfeasance and a public relations nightmare on this path.
If he’s posted sooner, it’s cleaner. Teams have already signed their 2024 classes; no teenager would be denied his long-promised bonus. Money from the initial signing may not matter to Roki all that much anyway; he’s matriculating too early to get a huge free agent deal, which suggests he has other priorities and/or other sources of income. Not to mention signing earlier gives Sasaki time to, you know, move and get acclimated to a new league and culture. I don’t have any insight into what will transpire, but it seems more logical to me that Sasaki’s situation gets resolved in the next month.
Imminently Heading Our Way
Tomoyuki Sugano, SP, Yomiuri GiantsKyle Hart 하트, SP, NC Dinos (KBO)Kazuma Okamoto, 1B, Yomiuri GiantsKaima Taira, SIRP, Saitama Seibu LionsHye-seong Kim 김혜성, SS, Kiwoom Heroes (KBO)Shinnosuke Ogasawara, SP, Chunichi Dragons
This group has mostly self-identified and indicated they’d like to test the MLB waters, but a few of the guys here are names scouts and executives have mentioned as possibilities. Sugano is an aged strike-thrower who has tried to transition to MLB before. Hart was on our recent Top 50 Free Agents list. Okamoto is a hot name who will probably be of interest to model-driven teams because of his ability to pull the ball in the air. He’s on Japan’s Premier12 roster. Taira’s stuff was down upon a move to the rotation and then he got hurt, but he rebounded in a big way late in 2024 and looked great at the end of the year.
Barriers to Entry
Liván Moinelo, SP, Fukuoka HawksRaidel Martinez, RP, Chunichi Dragons
Cuban players like Moinelo (who made a successful transition from the bullpen to Fukuoka’s rotation) and Martinez (a dominant closer) are playing in Japan with the blessing of the Cuban government, and so would need to defect and establish residency somewhere else in order to sign with an MLB team.
Star Power
Shunpeita Yamashita, SP, Orix BuffaloesMunetaka Murakami, 3B, Yakult SwallowsLiván Moinelo, SP, Fukuoka HawksHaruto Inoue, SP, Yomiuri GiantsShosei Togo, SP, Yomiuri Giants
This group would be ready to make a big impact for an MLB club within a year or two. Yamashita is only 22 and would be a top 30 or so overall prospect. Murakami hasn’t been able to replicate his early-career dominance, but still has enough lefty power to be considered an impact young player. Inoue and Togo would slot right into the middle of most good rotations.
Deep Projection
Seiya Yokoyama, SS, Orix BuffaloesRyusei Terachi, C, Chiba Lotte MarinesJulian Tima, 3B, Yomiuri GiantsShion Matsuo, C, Yokohama BayStarsHaruya Tanaka, SP, Chiba Lotte MarinesDong Ju Moon 문동주, SP, Hanwha Eagles (KBO)Do Yeong Kim 김도영, 3B, KIA Tigers (KBO)Rui Muneyama, SS, Rakuten Golden Eagles
This entire group will be subject to amateur bonus restrictions until 2030 or so. The players listed here are all around 20 years old and super deep cuts for the real dorks and dynasty league owners. Do Yeong Kim is the big new name in this group, as he is coming off a huge breakout season.
Personal Cheeseballs
Shunpeita Yamashita, SP, Orix BuffaloesTatsuki Mizuno, SS, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersJo Hsi Hsu, SP, Wei Chuan Dragons (CPBL)Woo-jin An 안우진, SP, Kiwoom Heroes (KBO)Carter Stewart, SP, Fukuoka Hawks
This group is made up of prospects whose skills or careers so far make them among the most interesting players on the list. These are the scouting reports you’re going to want to make sure you read.
Didn’t Make the Cut
I took notes on a bunch of young players who didn’t make the main section of the list.
Hiroto Saiki, RHP, Hanshin TigersA 6-foot-2, 26-year-old righty, Saiki’s build and delivery look like the MLB prototype. He worked nearly 170 innings in 2024 and has been a consistent strike-thrower so far throughout his career. His fastball sits 92 but has been up to 97. He lacks a breaking ball with vertical finish, which is odd considering he has a nearly due north arm angle. He either needs to add velocity or a better breaking ball to go with his splitter.
Keito Matsuura, LHP, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersA young lefty with a flat-approach fastball that averaged 93 mph during his 2024 NPB debut, the 21-year-old Matsuura needs one of his secondary pitches to take a step forward to make the main list.
Makoto Kadowaki, SS, Yomiuri GiantsKadowaki is an acrobatic, slick-fielding 23-year-old shortstop who, at 5-foot-7, may have a utility ceiling due to a lack of power and impact contact. He had a sub-.600 OPS in 2024, but his wrists are quick and he may yet get stronger.
Shota Morishita, RF, Hanshin TigersA 24-year-old right fielder who slashed .267/.367/.440 in 2024, Morishita is a kind of hitter you’re seeing more and more in North American pro ball: the guy who crowds the plate and tries to pull as often as he can. This has worked for Morishita, who has thrived against 93-plus mph fastballs in NPB. He’s a solid young hitter who needs to get stronger in order to hit for impact corner outfield power. At a medium-build 5-foot-11, that’s going to have to be accomplished in the weight room.
Ryuki Watarai, OF, Yokohama BayStarsThe 22-year-old Watarai was one of the first picks of the 2023 NPB Draft (they use a nomination and lottery system; three teams nominated Watarai to be their first pick and Yokohama won his lottery) and got a lot of big league run in 2024. He posted an .865 OPS in the minors and a .635 OPS in 75 Central League games. Watarai has big power for his age, but he swings with a ton of effort to get to it. As he matures and gets stronger, he might be able to shorten up and still hit for power. As of right now, this style of hitting feels like it wouldn’t hold water in MLB.
Kaito Muratmatsu, SS, Chunichi DragonsA little shortstop with great hand-eye coordination and barrel control, Muramatsu slashed .276/.328./.336 in his age-23 season. He’s a slappy all-fields hitter without much power (14 doubles, one homer) and his power projection is limited by his size (he’s a relatively maxed out 5-foot-7).
Daito Yamamoto, OF, Chiba Lotte MarinesThe 22-year-old Yamamoto had 19 homers for the Marines’ farm club in 2024 and had perhaps the best combination of youth, tools, and statistical performance among Eastern Leaguers. He’ a chase-prone corner guy, but he has the tools and physical projection to be similar to Chusei Mannami (who’s on the main section of the list) in a few years.
Yumeto Kanemaru, LHP, Chunichi DragonsFour teams nominated Kanemaru, a college southpaw from Kansai University, to be their first pick in 2024. Kanemaru is the NPB first round pick prototype, an athletic little lefty with an upshot fastball and quality breaking ball. Sometimes pitchers like this end up sustaining a 92-94 mph fastball across 150 or so innings, and become Shota Imanaga type starters. But a lot of early draftees like this (Seibu Lions lefties Chihiro Sumida and Natsuki Takeuchi are examples) end up plateauing in the 89-91 range. Kanemaru is a name to know in the event he has a velo spike.
