Padres predicted to beat out Dodgers for top international free agent originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's almost tough to get a feel for what top Japanese players are coming over to Major League Baseball. With guys like Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, there was obviously a lot of talent there.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNot only because they're pitchers and it's evident that their stuff can be just as good in Major League Baseball as it was in Japan, but it's a lot easier to evaluate arms because of what they have on the mound rather than hitters who might not be facing the same type of competition in Japan.
Regardless, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Munetaka Murakami.
He’s clearly the top player coming out of Japan this winter, but there are some questions about what he'll look like in Major League Baseball.
Some have suggested that he struggled with velocity during his time in the NPB, and that's obviously a massive concern.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf he can't hit the fastball at the highest level in Major League Baseball, he isn't going to have much of a chance to succeed in this game.
Despite that, Will Laws still believes that he's a top free agent on the board, ranking him 14th on his big board. He also predicted that he'd sign with the San Diego Padres.
“Murakami has been Japan’s most powerful slugger for years now, peaking with 56 homers in his age-22 season in 2022. Scouts view him as a third baseman in the short-term but he’ll likely end up at first eventually. He’s posted a 28.5% strikeout rate over the past three seasons, so he could settle in as a Three True Outcomes hitter in the U.S.. If that power output holds, though, that will make him one of this year’s most sought-after prizes, putting his contract in the nine-figure range,” he wrote.
If the Padres could finally poach some Japanese talent from the Los Angeles Dodgers, it should be viewed as a win, even in that small sense.
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