All eyes in the baseball world right now are laser-focused on Roki Sasaki. The 23-year-old Japanese flamethrowing phenom is seemingly days away from signing with an MLB club. Reports indicate that Sasaki has narrowed his options to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres and the Toronto Blue Jays. Whichever franchise lands the uber-talented youngster will get the bargain of the winter: a controllable, electrifying starting pitcher with immense upside.
But while Sasaki’s decision will have massive repercussions on the 2025 MLB season and beyond, the arrival of another Japanese talent could have an even bigger impact on the future of Japanese-American baseball relations.
Shotaro Morii is an 18-year-old two-way player who is widely considered one of the best players in his Japanese high school class. But rather than embarking upon a pro career in Japan, like thousands of his countrymen have done, Morii opted to blaze a new path by signing with the Athletics as an international amateur for a $1.5 million signing bonus. The deal, first reported by Yahoo Japan, became official Wednesday, the first day prospects in this year’s signing class were able to announce contracts.
It is the first of its kind.
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Never before in the history of Japanese baseball had an elite amateur prospect signed directly with an MLB team out of a Japanese high school. Last year, a slugging first baseman named Rintaro Sasaki (no relation to Roki), then the country’s consensus top prospect, made the paradigm-shifting choice to bypass the NPB Draft in favor of enrolling as a freshman at Stanford University. He played summer ball last year against collegiate competition and will play his first season with the Cardinal this spring. Sasaki’s move sent shockwaves through the Japanese baseball community, and Morii’s deal with the Athletics only adds fuel to the fire.
As a two-way player, Morii — a lefty-hitting, righty-throwing shortstop and right-handed pitcher — is tantalizing and promising, though not generational. Offensively, he boasts impressive pop for his age, thanks to electric hands and a wide frame. However, as he adds more strength and bulk, he might eventually need to slide off shortstop to a less valuable infield spot. On the mound, he touches 95 mph but isn’t a polished product yet. Alland ye together, Morii provides an exciting, projectable package, one that would likely make him a first-round pick if he…