Jorge CastilloMar 14, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on XMultiple Authors
On the mound, Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed 2⅔ scoreless innings in his one outing less than a year before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers and receiving the largest free agent contract given to a pitcher. He delivered a Herculean postseason performance in L.A.’s second consecutive World Series run in October.
Roki Sasaki, a wunderkind on the 2023 WBC team, is also a Dodger. Shota Imanaga, who pitched in three games and started one, made the National League All-Star team as a 30-year-old rookie for the Chicago Cubs in 2024. Even left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui, who pitched just one inning in the 2023 WBC, signed a five-year contract with the San Diego Padres before the 2024 season.
Though Japan’s NPB talent in this WBC doesn’t match the 2023 team’s level, several NPB stars could emerge in the knockout stage — and eventually leave for MLB.
Here’s a look at those players and which current big leaguers they compare to, starting with those expected to become MLB free agents the earliest.
Itoh is expected to become the next Japanese star pitcher to make the jump to the majors, and clubs are preparing for him to be among the free agent mix next offseason. Last season, the 5-foot-9 right-hander won the Sawamura Award — Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award — by going 14-8 with a 2.52 ERA and leading the league with 195 strikeouts and 196⅔ innings.
An American League talent evaluator said he expects Itoh to be a “high-end” free agent with plenty of suitors.
“Smallish but proven track record of durability,” the talent evaluator said. “He should continue to strike out MLB hitters while allowing very few walks.”
Sato started just one game in pool play in Tokyo — Japan’s 9-0 win over Czechia — in right field. He entered the other three games as a pinch hitter and has also played third base. He’s 2-for-6 with two doubles, a walk and an RBI.
Miyagi is just 5-7, but he has become a premier pitcher in NPB who has proven capable of handling a large workload. The left-hander posted a 2.39 ERA over 150⅓ innings last season. He has logged at least 141⅔ innings in each of the past five seasons with a 2.48 career ERA. Miyagi has a fastball in the low 90s and doesn’t miss many bats, instead relying on his command and pitch mix to limit damage.
Though Itoh won the Sawamura Award last season, Takahashi might just be the best NPB pitcher who hasn’t joined MLB yet. Bigger than Itoh and Miyagi but still listed at just 6-0, the right-hander’s fastball sits in the mid-90s, but it’s straight and doesn’t produce many whiffs. His splitter and cutter, however, miss bats at an elite rate for NPB.
Takahashi dominated an overwhelmed Czechia’s lineup to conclude pool play, giving up two hits in 4⅔ innings with five strikeouts. He’s eligible to pitch again in the semifinals if Japan advances that far.
“Takahashi has the biggest ceiling, but we are all waiting for him to make that next big jump,” the scout said.
Another left-hander well under 6 feet — he’s listed at 5-9 — Sumida recorded a 2.65 ERA in 159⅔ innings last season. He came out of the bullpen against Australia and was dominant, yielding an unearned run in three innings with seven strikeouts to zero walks.
A starter for the Marines with a 2.64 ERA in 24 starts last season, Taneichi has been used as a reliever in the WBC. The 6-foot right-hander logged two scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks in pool play.
We’ll group Morishita and Maki because they’re position players with unclear motivation to jump to MLB.
“They both can hit and have some pop,” the scout said. “That said, they are likely more bench guys. Not much defensive value.”
Kondoh has batted second or third in his three WBC starts, all in right field, and is 2-for-12 in the tournament after hitting .346 with a 1.115 OPS in Japan’s 2023 WBC championship run.
“He is similar to Yoshida,” the scout said. “I really feel when he saw Yoshida’s struggle to stand out, it gave him pause. There isn’t much defense, and there isn’t much power. He can really hit, but he took the NPB payday, and the move to the best franchise, instead.”
Three years ago, Japan toppled the United States to win the World Baseball Classic thanks to Shohei Ohtani’s two-way exploits, punctuated by his strikeout of Mike Trout to seal the victory. Ohtani was the star of the show, but he wasn’t the only star. Several of his teammates, household names in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, used the stage to introduce themselves to American baseball fans while making major contributions to that championship run. And most of them have since made the jump to Major League Baseball.
Jorge CastilloMar 14, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
Age: 28 NPB team: Nippon Ham Fighters MLB comp: Sonny Gray
Age: 27 NPB team: Hanshin Tigers MLB comp: Ryan O’Hearn
Age: 24 NPB team: Orix Buffaloes MLB comp: Framber Valdez
“He is a little guy but really competes,” the scout said. “He pitches like he is 6-3.”
Age: 23 NPB team: Chunichi Dragons MLB comp: Mitch Keller
Age: 26 NPB team: Seibu Lions MLB comp: Danny Coulombe
Age: 27 NPB team: Chiba Lotte Marines MLB comp: Cristian Javier
Age: 25 NPB team: Hanshin Tigers MLB comp: Matt Vierling
Age: 28 NPB team: Yokohama DeNA BayStars MLB comp: Zack Gelof
Age: 32 NPB team: SoftBank Hawks MLB comp: Masataka Yoshida
