By Mike Salas
Yamamoto was drafted in the 4th round of the 2016 NPB draft by the Orix Buffaloes and started five games going 1-1 with a 5.32 ERA in his debut. He moved to the bullpen in 2018 and made the Pacific League team for the 2018 NPB All- Stars Games, and became the first 20-year-old Buffalo hurler to pitch 50 games since Masafumi Hirai. He was also the youngest player to register 30 holds in NPB history (he finished with 32).
Yamamoto went 4-2 with a save, had a 2.89 ERA, and finished 2nd in the 2018 Rookie of the Year race. He finished just 42 points behind outfielder Kazuki Tanaka.
Back in the Rotation
In early 2019 he returned to the rotation and was dominant. He posted an 8-6 record, an ERA of just 1.95 and a WHIP of just 0.96. He tied for 8th in wins in the League and 5th in strikeouts as well.
In 2021 he posted an 18-5 record, an ERA of 1.39 and had 206 Ks in 193 2/3 IP. He also posted an 0.85 WHIP and won a pitching triple crown, beating teammate Hiroya Miyagi for the ERA title by a whopping 1.12 points. He led in wins by 5 ahead of Miyagi and in strikeouts by 54 ahead of Takahiro Norimoto. His six complete games were double runners-up behind Imai and Kazuya Ojima.
In 2022 Yamamoto was one of 4 pitchers that threw a no hitter, which marked the first time in NPB history that 4 different pitchers had done that in the same year. His numbers for 2022 were very similar to ’21: 15-5, 1.68, .92 WHIP, 205 K in 193 2/3 IP. That placed him 1st in all of the categories of ERA, complete games, shutout innings and strike outs, and amongst the PL leaders in wins in the NPB league.
Yamamoto was the first NPB pitcher to win consecutive pitching Triple Crowns.
In 2023 Yamamoto was selected to the Japan roster for the World Baseball Classic and on September 9th threw his second no-hitter against the Chiba Lotte Marines. That was the 100th no-hitter in NPB history, and it also made him the first pitcher to complete a no-hitter in back-to-back seasons in the two-league era. Yamamoto ended up 16-6 with an incredible 1.21 ERA, and won the PL pitching triple crown.
Since his debut in the NPB, Yamamoto is a two-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player, a two-time Eiji Sawamura award winner, and a three-time Japanese Triple Crown winner.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are not unfamiliar with drafting Japanese players, there have been many who have had a great career and the fans have embraced them. It is my opinion the Dodgers should do whatever they can to draft Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2024 because I think he would fit in well as a number one or number 2 starter behind Walker Buehler. The Dodgers need to get out of the “draft a project pitcher” for cheap and spend the money on Yamamoto if they are serious about the 2024 season.
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