Rangers: How good is ‘Babe Ruth of Japan’, Shohei Otani?
By Reid Hanson
The Rangers are interested in luring Japanese phenom, Shohei Otani, to their team, but is he really “the Babe Ruth of Japan”?
Shohei Otani is a player that projects as both a great pitcher and a great hitter. Known as “the Babe Ruth of Japan”, Otani isn’t just good – he’s great. While plenty of American prospects show promise in both the pitching and hitting part of the game, almost all focus on just one as they develop through the ranks. Shohei Otani developed both in the NPB and now eyes a move to MLB where he can showcase his duel-threat skills on the world’s biggest stage.
An international player catching the attention of major league scouts is nothing new these days. Every offseason there’s some young budding talent that captivates the imagination of baseball fans. But Shohei Otani appears to be something much different.
Having never seen the kid play and having no scouting experience myself, there was little I could do on my own to assess his talent level. So I do what all curious columnists do – I searched for someone who is qualified and then would spread the word.
It didn’t take long before I found Chuck Wasserstorm’s article, Scouting Shohei Otani on mlbtraderumors.com
In Chuck’s article he spoke to scouts and front office personnel around the league in order to gauge Otani’s ability. The feedback was positive. Like once-in-a-lifetime kinda prospect, positive. I encourage you to read the compete article for the full scouting report. But I’ll summarize and break it down here for readers who are short on time and hungry for information:
Using a 2-8 scale, with 5 being the major league average, the scouts dove into and graded the various aspects of Shohei Otani’s game.
Pitching
Otani was given a 6/7 grade as a pitcher, meaning he’s a Day 1 No. 3 starter and a future No 2 starter. Knowing that 8’s aren’t given out to anyone (meaning he’s a potential Ace), a 6/7 scouting score is about as good as you can get.
His fastball is in the 95-100 MPH range and is said to usually reside in the higher end of that range. Additionally, he has a knack for throwing strikes and keeping his pitch count down. Something that allows him to keep his velocity up all game. Together with a strong split and slider, Otani has three plus pitches at only 22-year old.
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Hitting
As a hitter Otani was graded as a 4/6 meaning he projects to be an above average hitter with above average power. He can handle off-speed pitches and should be able to deliver power to all fields. His power specifically projects as a 6/8 meaning he could be one of the most powerful hitters in the league one day.
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Verdict
Since two-way players don’t really exist in today’s MLB, becoming the next Babe Ruth is nearly impossible. Yet if he signs with an American league team like the Rangers, he could theoretically pitch in the rotation and DH in between starts.
The Texas Rangers, along with a handful of other MLB teams are attempting to bring Japan’s next big thing away from NPB and into their loving arms in MLB.
Given the newly redesigned posting system, it appears money won’t be a deciding factor and Otani will have final say as to where he ends up.
For as nontraditional as it may seem, playing both ways would yield the highest potential for a pitcher/hitter combo like Otani. If the Rangers can convince him they are going to allow him to play both ways on a regular basis, he may be convinced Texas is the right place for him.
Next: The Real Reason for the Rangers Struggles
How good is Shohei Otani? Really good with the potential to be great. That’s why we should all be excited about the “Babe Ruth of Japan”.