Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida Joins Ichiro Suzuki In Rarified Air With Impressive Start

Boston has a rising star on their hands

Scott Neville | Jun 5, 2023

Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida Joins Ichiro Suzuki In Rarified Air With Impressive Start /

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Boston Red Sox

When Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom signed outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year $90 million deal, executives around the league reportedly laughed at what was perceived as an overpay.

Yoshida proceeded to have one of the most overall dominant starts to a season in the modern era and has been an extremely impactful middle-of-the-order bat for Red Sox manager Alex Cora. What truly stands out is how well his plate discipline has translated from international play to Major League Baseball.

In 50 games, Masataka Yoshida has hit .314 with an .899 OPS, 22 extra-base hits, 23 walks, and 22 strikeouts," Red Sox senior manager of media relations and baseball information J.P. Long tweeted prior to Sunday's game. "Only two players this century have reached base 85+ times and struck out 25 or fewer times in their first 50 career games: Masataka Yoshida (2023) Ichiro Suzuki (2001)."

Yoshida has been able to showcase his abilities to both get on base at a high clip and provide the power required in the No. 2 and No. 4 spots in the order -- where he typically resides.

While the talk about his contract was largely overblown, it does appear that the Red Sox made the right move. The 29-year-old has been quite impressive and already appears to be solidified as a core member of the roster.

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Published Jun 5, 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