Red Sox Reportedly Scouting Highly Coveted Japanese Ace Sporting 1.79 ERA

Boston has interest in one of the best pitchers in the upcoming free-agent class

Scott Neville | Jul 9, 2023

Red Sox Reportedly Scouting Highly Coveted Japanese Ace Sporting 1.79 ERA /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

If Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom takes one note away from the 2023 season, it should be how badly he needs to upgrade the rotation this winter.

The upcoming free-agent class is absolutely stacked with high-end starting pitching, including one of the most highly-anticipated international players in recent memory -- and the Red Sox appear to have interest.

Boston was one of eight teams who sent scouts to watch Orix Buffaloes ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto's most recent start according to Hochi News.

Yamamoto is 8-3 with a 1.79 ERA, 94-to-12 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.87 WHIP in 85 1/3 innings across 12 starts this season.

The 24-year-old rising superstar is the back-to-back reigning Eiji Sawamura Award winner -- which is Nippon Professional Baseball's Cy Young Award.

Yamamoto is 62-26 with a 1.94 ERA, 847-to-190 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 0.94 WHIP in 818 1/3 innings across his seven seasons in the NPB.

As is the case with many Japanese aces, Yamamoto features a devastating forkball. The right-hander also is known for his curveball, which syncs well with his heater and has an aggressive vertical drop. His fastball sits in the mid-90s but can climb into the high-90s when needed. As it stands now, Yamamoto features a six-pitch mix, as many Japanese pitchers prefer having a large arsenal over mastering two-to-four pitches. We'll see how or if he adjusts his approach when he comes stateside.

The Red Sox could have a big advantage in the Yamamoto sweepstakes, as his former Buffaloes and Team Japan teammate Masataka Yoshida has acclimated very well in Boston. There's a chance Yoshida is a large focal point of the recruiting pitch.

If that does become the case, the Red Sox could be front-runners for one of the top hurlers in the class. Given that Bloom has used this season to reset the luxury tax, he should be able to spend at will this winter.

More MLB: Yankees Add Ex-Red Sox Slugger To MLB Roster To Replace Injured Outfielder

Published Jul 9, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu