The Las Vegas Athletics may have found their potential franchise player in Japan after signing 18-year-old Shotaro Morii on Wednesday for a $1.5 million bonus deal. After a saddening end to the Athletics’ season and moving away from the historic Oakland Coliseum, Shotaro Morii may be a bright spot in the Athletics’ future, and they can hope the 18-year-old can turn the Las Vegas Athletics’ franchise around in a new home.
Morii bypassed playing in Japan and became the first player to go straight from high school baseball in Japan to the MLB. Similarly, Rintaro Sasaki, a first baseman, skipped the NPB draft to play college baseball at Stanford last year. Morii is a unique prospect due to his ability to be a two-way player like Shohei Ohtani.
Shotaro Morii is a lefty-hitting shortstop who hit 45 home runs in high school and hurls a 95 mph fastball. With MLB-level training heading his way, it won’t be a surprise to see Shotaro Morii’s fastball tick to around 97 mph when he gets called to the big leagues. While his fastball may not clock in at 99.4 like Shohei Ohtani, Shotaro Morii still has a great arm with great potential under the proper training.
Morii also has excellent offensive pop for the ball and wants to add some bulk and strength. Yahoo! Sports may suggest he slide over from shortstop to another infield position as he starts to build more muscle.
Time will only tell how Shotaro Morii’s career will pan out in the MLB, but being an 18-year-old two-way player with a ticket to the MLB oozes potential. Morii can be a key factor in the Athletics’ future and restore the franchise to becoming a competitive baseball team.
Having Shotaro Morii in the MLB at such a young age may cause a ripple effect across Japanese baseball in the coming years. This may lead to more Japanese prospects or prospects of other nations skipping their respective baseball leagues and going straight to the MLB.
It is unsure whether Shotaro Morii can live up to the hype of becoming the next Shohei Ohtani, but his decision to skip the NPB and go straight to the MLB may hurt Japanese baseball in the coming years.
On the one hand, Morii’s decision is enormous from a cultural standpoint for baseball. Morii is among many young Japanese players who have made their presence known in the MLB and are creating a more diverse fanbase. This creates more fans and revenue across the MLB and gives great representation to Asian Americans who don’t necessarily watch baseball but can now tune in to see themselves represented in this sport.
However, this creates a problem for the NPB as they will lose out on viewership and players because of the MLB, and some rules may be set if this keeps occurring so that the NBP can keep thriving. While this may not pan out, Morii’s decision may cause an issue for overseas leagues if this career path continues for other prospects.
MLB has had a history of beloved Japanese players throughout its long lifespan. From Ichiro to Hideki Matsui, Masahiro Tanaka, and Hideo Nomo, to now Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the MLB has had a plethora of Japanese players who have been adored by MLB fans across the globe.
Now that more Japanese players enter the league, fans across Japan and other parts of Asia are gaining interest in MLB. Shohei Ohtani has an essential and sizeable impact on that viewership, but there’s no doubt that his impact also creates more fans and the discovery of other Japanese and Asian players. If Shotaro Morii can play at a similar capability to Ohtani, his impact will surely cause another surge in MLB interest overseas.
Roki Sasaki is now looming towards his free agency signing. With other players around the corner, like Rintaro Sasaki and Munetaka Murakami, slated to be posted in 2026, the MLB will be thriving with talent from overseas.
Shotaro Morii will be an interesting case with his two-way player capabilities, and while he may not live up to the hype or level of Shohei Ohtani, he may be proof that two-way players can flourish in the MLB.
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