Dave Roberts Believes Yoshinobu Yamamoto Can Be Frontline Starter for Dodgers
When the dust settled on a historic offseason, the Dodgers were left with a new-look pitching staff led by Yoshinobu Yamamoto — at least in terms of dollars and cents. His $325 million, 12-year deal was the richest of all-time for any pitcher.
Although he has not pitched in the United States, Yamamoto was highly coveted by many major league teams. Luckily, the Dodgers were able to snag him up and have themselves an ace for the foreseeable future. The 25-year-old has all the tools to be successful in the majors, and his manager, Dave Roberts, has a front-row view.
Speaking at the Dodgers’ spring training facility in Arizona, Roberts told reporters (including Dodger Insider’s Cary Osborne) Yamamoto can be a front-line starter.
“I’m very confident that he can be a front-line starter. I think the first thing I see is his ability to command the baseball with his fastball, he can throw to all quadrants. And then you look at the pitch mix, the weapons that he has — fastball curveball, slider, the split — and to be able to throw those for strikes, to get left-handed hitters out, right-handed hitters out. And the last part, he’s very intelligent, very curious, and he’s going to be prepared and understand how to attack Major League hitters.”
— Dave Roberts, via Dodger Insider
Many experts compare Yamamoto’s game to the likes of Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. Yamamoto is listed at 5-foot-10; Martinez was 5-foot-11. Like Martinez, Yamamoto has an upper-90s fastball with impeccable command of several off-speed pitches.
Even though both pitchers are small in stature, their game speaks volumes. As Roberts alluded, there are very few weaknesses to Yamamoto’s arsenal. He can potentially become the best pitcher in the league very quickly.
The biggest concern will be how fast he can translate his success in Japan to MLB. However, once he figures that out, opposing batters beware.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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