If Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto lives up to the hype surrounding his 12-year, $325 million contract, the Dodgers have an ace-level starter to headline their rotation. Now, fans and personnel within the organization are very much looking forward...

If Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto lives up to the hype surrounding his 12-year, $325 million contract, the Dodgers have an ace-level starter to headline their rotation. Now, fans and personnel within the organization are very much looking forward to seeing Yamamoto perform at the highest level.

Yamamoto wanted to pitch on the biggest stage that baseball had to offer, so playing in Los Angeles certainly gives him that chance. Some, however, have questioned how a pitcher with no experience at any level of baseball in North America is deserving of a contract of that size.

Yamamoto received the largest total-value contract for a pitcher in major league history, despite never throwing a pitch in the big leagues — or even the minors. But the way teams went after him during the free agent process, the skill set should transition nicely.

Galen Carr, the Dodgers’ vice president of player personnel, spoke about why he believes Yamamoto will fit in just fine with how the game is played in the United States.

“He’s been doing what he’s been doing for quite a while,” Carr said in a conversation with The Athletic on Thursday, noting a sterling track record that has seen Yamamoto take home the Sawamura Award (Nippon Professional Baseball’s equivalent to the Cy Young Award) three consecutive times. “Ever since he broke in at the top level of Japan, he’s basically been lights-out.”

Some scouts believe Yamamoto has the potential to become the best pitcher ever to come over from Japan. His stuff is electric on the mound. He uses a mixture of pitches to confuse his opponents, including a deadly splitter that should cause issues for major league batters.

The Dodgers have been scouting Yamamoto for years, so when he became available, they jumped at the chance to sign him. He is only 25 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to continue growing in his already impressive craft.

“He’s just an exceptional athlete and his raw stuff across the board is exceptional,” Carr said. “And there’s no other way to describe it. … We obviously weren’t the only ones that felt that way within our industry.

If Yamamoto can turn out to be the pitcher the Dodgers believe he’ll be, the team will have gotten a steal. The right-hander will have every opportunity to succeed in the league, and he seems ready for the challenge ahead of him.

Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

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