Yahoo Sports senior MLB analysts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss the 23-year-old pitcher’s decision to potentially make the jump to Major League Baseball and why he is the best pitching phenom in years. Hear the full conversation on the “Baseball Bar-B-Cast” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

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Video Transcript

Roki Sasaki, this is a very interesting character this winter who is Roki Sasaki Jordan.

Let's give people the very simple overview.

Sasaki is in some ways like Japanese baseball, Bryce Harper, but a pitcher, he has been very well known for a very long time.

He has been outstanding in the N PB.

He is, I believe 23 just turned 23 a couple days ago, which means that if you were to come over now he would be subject to international bonus pull stuff and there's a very significant limit on what he could make.

He is the epitome of a pitching phenom more than really anything that we've had in the US because yes, Skeens fit that description once he got to LSU and was, you know, 21 right?

Um But Sasaki has been this since he was like 15 and dominating high school ball and throwing harder than any pitcher had ever been seen in, in Japan and then dominating in M PB as soon as he got there and showing up in the W BC, you know, as a 21 year old and averaging 100 miles an hour on his fastball he just checks all of those boxes of just pitching phenom.

But to your point, the reason why he is a bit of a mystery character this off season is because it is not a guarantee that he is going to come over.

Sasaki has made it very clear from the beginning, however, because he has only played four seasons in N PB, he would need to be posted by his team and that is entirely his at his team's discretion for at least several more seasons.

He asked to be posted last year.

And as expected, they said, no, he is understandably asking again to be posted this year.

And at the time this recording, while there has been some reporting that it is more likely that we are heading towards him being posted right now.

A lot of the people who are following Japanese baseball closely are still saying there's really no reason for them to let him go at this point.

So while it is possible that he is going to end up being a free agent, and if that is the case, it will be extremely important and unique in the sense that he will be subject to international bonus pool money, which means like when Otani came over, it is not just going to be, oh, well, only the Mets and Dodgers can sign him because they're the only ones that can offer him the most money anyone is going to be able to afford him.

It will essentially be his choice to pick the team that he wants to play for.

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