1. 11-13-16 09:49 AM #1
    Mr KLC
    Mr KLC's Avatar SBR PRO
    Join Date: 12-19-07
    Posts: 30,631
    Betpoints: 432

    This Guy Might Be The Hottest MLB Free Agent In 2017

    SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Otani is what this current free-agent market lacks. He is a young, talented starter — already perceived as one of the best pitchers in the world — with the fringe benefit that he actually might be a superb hitter, as well.

    But Otani is not expected to come to the American majors until next offseason, at which point the frenzy for his services likely will make him the first Japanese import to exceed $200 million.

    “I actually think the guy might get a $300 million deal,” said a scout who has had multiple looks at the righty pitcher/lefty hitter. “That is how special a talent he is. He has power No. 1 starter stuff. He is throwing 99 [mph] in the eighth inning. His secondary stuff is unhittable. He is big and loose. His fastball is electric and his curve, cutter and split are all 70s [on the 20-80 scouting scale].

    Otani is 6-foot-4, began pitching professionally when he was 18 and this past season went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA, 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings and — oh yeah — he hit 22 homers with a 1.004 OPS in 382 plate appearances. By the way, he does not turn 23 until July.

    The Yankees have restrained themselves from big spending in recent offseasons and have the contracts of Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia coming off the books after this season, plus Masahiro Tanaka could opt out.

    The Cubs, who pursued Tanaka, will have the contracts of starters Jake Arrieta and John Lackey coming off the books after 2017. The Dodgers will be a year away from Clayton Kershaw potentially opting out of his deal, the same with the Red Sox and David Price. The Angels will be free of their last $25 million obligation to Josh Hamilton. The Astros, who were quietly in deep on Tanaka, probably have money to spend. The Phillies definitely do.

    There was some thought Otani might come this winter, especially if Nippon Ham won the Japan Series, which they did. But I spoke to more than a dozen scouts, executives and agents who are vested in Japanese baseball and they all say next offseason is the target.

    http://nypost.com/2016/11/09/meet-ba...-may-get-300m/

    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 11-13-16 09:57 AM #2
    lolz_69
    lolz_69's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-03-16
    Posts: 664
    Betpoints: 375

    eh, he's not that attractive
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. 11-13-16 09:57 AM #3
    jjgold
    jjgold's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-20-05
    Posts: 388,190
    Betpoints: 10

    majors in USA tougher

    Not many Asian Pitchers are real studs coming here
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. 11-13-16 11:26 AM #4
    kidcudi92
    W and Based Poster
    kidcudi92's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-14-11
    Posts: 15,434
    Betpoints: 1679

    thats my 6th cousin
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  5. 11-13-16 02:19 PM #5
    DOM-Ganador
    DOM-Ganador's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 05-30-12
    Posts: 4,479
    Betpoints: 5742

    BUT, does he have the mysterious "GYRO" pitch.

    If so, the RedSox will post a couple hundo mil for him. Worked out great last time.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. 11-13-16 07:42 PM #6
    CWD
    Update your status
    CWD's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 01-21-12
    Posts: 7,667
    Betpoints: 190

    these guys burn bright for a minute at least

    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. 11-13-16 08:25 PM #7
    JMobile
    CM Punk -1000.5 (100X)
    JMobile's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 08-21-10
    Posts: 19,064
    Betpoints: 26848

    Too early for this. He might lose control like Chapman.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  8. 11-13-16 08:43 PM #8
    slambam
    slambam's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 02-07-10
    Posts: 1,653
    Betpoints: 40

    Pass, they always make these a Asians sound like the best players in the world. It rarely turns out, So Taguchi being an exception.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  9. 11-13-16 08:45 PM #9
    lolz_69
    lolz_69's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-03-16
    Posts: 664
    Betpoints: 375

    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  10. 11-13-16 10:05 PM #10
    GUMMO77
    Many bags of soup. Many.
    GUMMO77's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 08-23-10
    Posts: 9,294
    Betpoints: 1726

    Breathtakingly sexy.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  11. 11-14-16 05:19 AM #11
    Sledge187
    Sledge187's Avatar SBR PRO
    Join Date: 04-25-08
    Posts: 3,722
    Betpoints: 5949

    My wife is Asian....I will talk to her about this guy.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  12. 11-15-16 02:04 PM #12
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W Awards
    1997 28 NYY AL 5 4 .556 7.09 13 9 0 0 0 0 53.1 69 47 42 15 20 0 56 1 3 4 246 64 5.85 1.669 11.6 2.5 3.4 9.5 2.80
    1998 29 NYY AL 13 9 .591 4.06 29 28 0 2 1 0 173.0 148 79 78 27 76 1 126 9 1 6 732 109 5.19 1.295 7.7 1.4 4.0 6.6 1.66
    1999 30 NYY AL 11 7 .611 4.84 32 27 2 2 1 0 169.1 180 98 91 26 46 0 133 6 0 7 733 97 4.48 1.335 9.6 1.4 2.4 7.1 2.89
    2000 31 MON NL 2 5 .286 7.24 11 11 0 0 0 0 54.2 77 45 44 9 14 0 42 1 2 5 247 67 4.56 1.665 12.7 1.5 2.3 6.9 3.00
    2001 32 MON NL 0 2 .000 4.86 3 3 0 0 0 0 16.2 22 9 9 3 3 0 18 0 0 0 74 93 3.77 1.500 11.9 1.6 1.6 9.7 6.00
    2002 33 TEX AL 3 8 .273 5.74 38 2 26 0 0 16 47.0 51 30 30 11 16 2 30 1 0 3 204 83 5.81 1.426 9.8 2.1 3.1 5.7 1.88
    6 Yrs 34 35 .493 5.15 126 80 28 4 2 16 514.0 547 308 294 91 175 3 405 18 6 25 2236
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  13. 11-15-16 02:04 PM #13
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Do you know who stats these are????
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  14. 11-15-16 02:33 PM #14
    triplecrown333
    triplecrown333's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 07-13-14
    Posts: 1,524
    Betpoints: 84

    irabu or something , pudgy fcuk
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  15. 11-15-16 02:36 PM #15
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Free agent market is not very good for 2017. Bautista is 36 and injury prone, whoever throws made cash at him is nuts. Even Encarnacion is 34, a five year deal for him is donation for the last two years unless he is roided up. Unfortuntely for the Mets Cespedes is the best player in the free agent market. Mark Trumbo is the 2nd best and then Justin Turner. Free agent starters blow but Kensly Jansen and Aroldis Chapman are just waiting for those made cash offers. Trading is the way to acquire good players this off season. Tampa bay has said they will listen to offers for Longooria and Archer, White Sox Chris Sale. Houston has a ton of hitting and is looking for pitching. San Diego is ready to deal! Trading is definitely the way to go this year.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  16. 11-15-16 02:46 PM #16
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Quote Originally Posted by triplecrown333 View Post
    irabu or something , pudgy fcuk
    we have a winner Arabu. Remember him, he threw 98 mph and didn't amount to much thats why the Yanks dumped him. So, I'm not sold on Asian players who play against minor league competition. A handful of them become good major league players but most don't.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  17. 11-15-16 02:52 PM #17
    Da Manster!
    Da Manster!'s Avatar SBR PRO
    Join Date: 07-13-07
    Posts: 17,666
    Betpoints: 2786

    yes, that is Hideki Irabu whom George Steinbrenner referred to as a "fat toad"...the only three Japanese players to have decent careers in MLB are Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro Suzuki...flops were Matasuzaka and Irabu...jury is still out on Darvish, Tanaka and Uehara...
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  18. 11-15-16 06:58 PM #18
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Darvish is damn good, if he could only stay healthy. His stats are real good!
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  19. 11-15-16 07:01 PM #19
    packerd_00
    packerd_00's Avatar SBR PRO
    Join Date: 05-22-13
    Posts: 17,624
    Betpoints: 3521

    Quote Originally Posted by Da Manster! View Post
    yes, that is Hideki Irabu whom George Steinbrenner referred to as a "fat toad"...the only three Japanese players to have decent careers in MLB are Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro Suzuki...flops were Matasuzaka and Irabu...jury is still out on Darvish, Tanaka and Uehara...
    Fair play to Nomo he stuck around for 12 years.
    Last edited by packerd_00; 11-15-16 at 07:10 PM.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  20. 11-19-16 03:24 PM #20
    irish1
    Update your status
    irish1's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 12-25-12
    Posts: 4,837
    Betpoints: 5081

    Quote Originally Posted by Da Manster! View Post
    yes, that is Hideki Irabu whom George Steinbrenner referred to as a "fat toad"...the only three Japanese players to have decent careers in MLB are Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui, and Ichiro Suzuki...flops were Matasuzaka and Irabu...jury is still out on Darvish, Tanaka and Uehara...
    Tanaka and Darvich are real good. Uehara had a fair career in MLB but he is 41 years old. So, if Uehara came over at a younger age he would have been a very good pitcher.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  21. 11-19-16 03:32 PM #21
    Dirty Sanchez
    Two time SBR Academy Award winner
    Dirty Sanchez's Avatar Become A Pro!
    Join Date: 03-01-10
    Posts: 16,031
    Betpoints: 26

    I just keep thinking about Hideki Irabu when the Yankees signed him...the Japanese "Nolan Ryan" they said
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
Top
« Previous Thread | Players Talk | Next Thread »