Reports: Sox meet japanese phenom Otani

[Nomar]

Why wouldn't he want to go to Texas with Yu in the mix? It'll probably come down to us, Dodgers and the Rangers. I'd say our chances are less than 30% to get him...but it would be indeed a huge signing.
It would be a much different situation cpmpare to the other guys coming over from Japan/Asia. He's still young and gets the chance to learn the rythm right away (in the lower minors).

Our pitching in the farm would be looking nasty with him on board. Barnes, Rubby, Webster, Otani, Workman, Ranaudo...

You forgot Owens, who is a better spec than Workman and Ranaudo at this point.

[AI4]

What would be interesting if he signs with us is that our lower levels would be stocked with raw, high upside pitching talent.

Owens, Otani, Buttrey, Light, Kukuk, Montas, etc.

[Nomar]

Agreed. I love Owens, Buttrey and Kukuk.

[SirHizz]

You forgot Owens, who is a better spec than Workman and Ranaudo at this point.

Yes, I did. You gotta love Owen's high K/9. He got his ERA down after some strange outings in the first half IIRC. Looks very promising and even though some of his stats weren't that great at the end of the year, he gets some real love from many scouts.

[Nomar]

Yes, I did. You gotta love Owen's high K/9. He got his ERA down after some strange outings in the first half IIRC. Looks very promising and even though some of his stats weren't that great at the end of the year, he gets some real love from many scouts.

Yeah, and his FIP is better than his ERA. If he improves his velocity he's gonna really shoot up lists.

[AI4]

Otani was the potential No. 1 overall pick in this week's Japanese draft until he announced yesterday that he plans to play in the United States. The 18-year-old righthander is extremely athletic and projectable at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, and his fastball has been clocked in the upper 90s. He also throws a slider and a splitter, though his secondary pitches and command are still works in progress. After the Dodgers met with Otani in September, assistant GM Logan White told the Japanese press that Otani had the talent to be the top overall choice in the MLB draft.

Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams get $2.9 million with which to sign international amateurs. But unlike the restrictions for exceeding draft bonus pools, which could cost a club its next two first-round choices, the penalties for surpassing international bonus pools aren't as harsh. A team that blows past its international pool by 15 percent or more would pay a 100-percent tax on the overage and be forbidden to pay an international amateur more than $250,000 during next year's signing period.

For a player with Otani's upside, that's not much of a deterrent. Also consider that in the draft, a player of his caliber would be available only to the teams choosing at the very top. On the worldwide market, all 30 teams are in play. Clubs accustomed to picking at the bottom of the draft may be willing to pay dearly for the opportunity to sign him.

Three teams—the Dodgers, Rangers and Red Sox—have met with Otani in Japan, and he said yesterday that he plans on signing with one of them. We don't have access to how much money clubs have remaining in their international bonus pools, but Texas appears to have the most among those three teams. (The Rangers' $4.5 million signing of Beras doesn't count against the pool because it happened in February.) Boston, which spent a combined $1.36 million on Dominican righthander Jose Almonte, Dominican shortstop Wendell Rijo and Venezuelan lefty Dedgar Jimenez, has the least money among the three clubs.

But as I said, I don't think cap space is going to matter when it comes to signing Otani. For the same reason, I don't think he'll have to wait until next year's signing period to maximize his money. He'll need some time to develop, but Otani has a special arm and will get paid accordingly.

Callis

[BSF101]

Completely different types of pitchers, also take innings, age and other types of deals. Body type, arm angle, and other things also can be different. Tazawa is also a completely different pitcher than Matsuzaka.

I have to see him pitch in the league before I can say he's worth the money.

[BSF101]

I'm really surprised the Yankees aren't in the Mix?

[SirHizz]

Don't know how it works, but couldn't we offer him more "internal" money like bonuses or something like that?
But I am still standing by my prediction, he's probably heading to Texas. For 2 reasons: (more) money and Yu.
But then again, the Rangers are a very strong organization right now, but long term (not insignificant for a 18 year old)? I'd rather be in Boston

[ciaban]

a few things the dodgers have going for them, 1 is LA has the largest Japanese population in the country, so he can feel more at home here, another is the ball park is pitcher friendly unlike texas and boston, also, most of the parks in our division are extreme pitchers parks like SF and SD, really only colorado sucks to pitch in. Finally no DH, which i think all these pitcher friendly bonuses could land him on the west coast, also they have had a great history with Japanese players in the past.

[Nomar]

Otani may have been overhyped according to Baseball America's Ben Badler.

“Otani has gotten the hype, and while he’s certainly talented, scouts aren’t sold that he’s even the best high school prospect in Japan.”

The country’s top prep prospect for many evaluators is Shintaro Fujinami, a 6-foot-5 righthander who outperformed Otani at the 18U World Championships in South Korea in late August and early September.

He also said he wouldnt be in his top 100 prospects this year if he qualified either.

[Soxfan85]

According to Sanspo, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters general manager Masao Yamada intends to draft Japanese right-hander Shohei Otani.
Otani announced this weekend that he intends to sign with a major league team this offseason, but he declared himself eligible for the Nippon Professional Baseball draft first. If he is drafted by an NPB team, they will have the right to sign him until the end of March. In other words, it would delay him signing with an MLB team for several months. The Red Sox, Dodgers and Rangers have all met with the 18-year-old right-hander and he's expected to sign with one of them.

[Station 13]

And he was taken by the fighting Ham Fighters.

[Soxfan85]

Shohei Otani was drafted Thursday by the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Otani made it known this past weekend that he intends to sign with a major league team this winter, but Japan's top league is not going to let him go that easily. The 18-year-old right-hander must now break from tradition and decline a spot in Nippon-Ham's organization. He'd be the first player to ever jump from a Japanese high school to the professional ranks in the United States. The Red Sox, Dodgers and Rangers are known to have interest.
Source: Ben Badler on Twitter

[AI4]

Awesome