On Saturday, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed off his incredible repertoire of pitches during the first live batting practice of the spring.
Thankfully, the Dodgers were nice enough to share.
If the home plate view of Yamamoto’s stuff wasn’t impressive enough, MLB analyst Rob Friedman revealed how nasty it can get by overlaying the right-hander’s fastball and curveball.
During the BP session, Yamamoto faced off against teammate and former MVP Freddie Freeman, who praised the Japanese star. According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, Freeman couldn’t say enough about the rookie, adding that he showed “elite command with every pitch.”
Yamamoto spent seven seasons pitching in the Japan League for the Orix Buffalos before making the jump to MLB. Following a dominant final season in Japan (16-6, 1.21 ERA), he agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers in December.
The addition of the 24-year-old ace was only one of several big moves by the Dodgers this offseason, highlighted by signing superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract. The first glimpse of Yamamoto should excite an already hyped-up Dodger fanbase dreaming of a World Series title or maybe a few with the group the franchise has assembled.
