The latest news from the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training camp is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the pitcher who received the largest contract in history at $325 million, is being described as impressive.
It’s clear why many teams were interested in the Japanese right-hander: he has smooth mechanics and impressive velocity, his command is impeccable, and his secondary pitches are outstanding.
A video of Yamamoto showcasing his skills at Dodgers camp was shared on MLB’s official Twitter account.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is bringing the heat to #SpringTraining 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rpfIShnx1q
— MLB (@MLB) February 14, 2024
Yamamoto will join the already stacked Dodgers rotation.
With a combination of healthy and injured pitchers, the Dodgers have a lineup that includes Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, James Paxton, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan, and more.
Yamamoto has been named the Pacific League MVP in Japan three times and has also received the Eiji Sawamura award for the past three seasons.
He was also part of the team that won the World Baseball Classic for Japan last spring.
His fastball reaches the mid-90s with movement, and he can even push it to the high-90s when necessary.
His splitter and curveball are his strongest secondary pitches, and he also throws a cutter.
Yamamoto consistently throws strikes and rarely walks batters or gives up home runs.
The challenge for him will be translating his success in the NPB to MLB.
Despite not having thrown a pitch yet, he is already considered one of the most dominant pitchers in the league.
He is truly something special.
© 2023
According to the Source thecoldwire.com