Could Masataka Yoshida Be Red Sox's Next Star? Outfielder's Projections On Par With Ex-MVPs

Boston certainly has some upside heading into 2023

The most interesting move of the 2023 offseason to date by the Boston Red Sox certainly was the addition of Japanese star outfielder Masataka Yoshida. 

Yoshida began his professional career with the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball league in 2016 and developed into one of the best hitters in the entire league throughout his seven-year career. The 29-year-old is set to take the field with the Red Sox in 2023 and his projections are off the charts, according to MLB.com's David Adler.

"The Red Sox shelled out $90 million to bring Yoshida to the Major Leagues, and the Steamer projections are high on the 29-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder as he makes the jump from Nippon Professional Baseball, even with no big league track record, Adler said. "Steamer has Yoshida batting .298, the second-best batting average projection behind only Luis Arraez, with a .388 projected on-base percentage that's second only to Juan Soto. His projected OPS, .867, is top 10 among all MLB hitters.

"The 140 wRC+ Yoshida is projected for is the same as Bryce Harper's and Paul Goldschmidt's. Yoshida did just bat .335 with a .447 on-base percentage and 1.008 OPS in his last season in Japan, but those are still eye-opening projections for 2023."

The fact that Yoshida's projections already are in line with the likes of National League Most Valuable Players Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt certainly bodes well for the 29-year-old's chances in 2023. Plus, weighted runs created plus certainly is a solid start to be on par with former MVPs. The advanced statistic measures how many runs a player creates and adjusts the number to consider factors like the ballpark they play in. To put it in perspective, the average MLB wRC+ is 100. 

While Yoshida may not win the American League MVP award in 2023, the fact that he already is being compared to the league's best before he has even taken the field once for Boston shows how highly respected he is. If Yoshida can even come close to his 2023 projections, he would give the team a significant upgrade in offensive production to what they had in 2022. If Yoshida can reach his projections, he may have a chance to be the best outfielder the team has had since Mookie Betts. 

While all of the numbers are great and exciting, we'll have to wait until Yoshida can take the field with Boston before we're able to make any true judgments. Things do seem like they are looking up for the Red Sox though heading into 2023. 

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