The Dodgers are in the mix for one of the more unusual young pitching prospects on the board.
Los Angeles is one of 12 teams meeting with Shoki Oda, the 18-year-old Japanese teenager who is drawing serious attention as he considers his next step, according to his high school manager, Hiroaki Murata. Oda is not following the standard path for a Japanese prospect, either. Instead of going through NPB first, he wants to head straight to baseball in America.
That makes his decision especially interesting. Oda is weighing international amateur free agency, which would allow him to choose where he develops, rather than taking the more traditional route through the college ranks and into the amateur draft.
The Dodgers, like any MLB club, can sign him through that process. His only other option is the amateur draft.
The appeal of that freedom is obvious given how determined Oda is to get stateside. He was already taken in the first round by the Yomiuri Giants, but he has not backed off his plan.
“I want to play in the No. 1 (league) in the world. I want to be No. 1 in the world,” Oda said to reporters, per the California Post.
Normally, Japanese prospects are drafted by an NPB team, develop there, and then eventually become available to MLB clubs through posting. Once a player commits to NPB, there is a waiting period before that posting process can happen. Oda is trying to skip that entire lane.
On the field, he brings plenty to sell. Oda is a pitcher who can reach 95 miles per hour with his fastball as a starter and touch 97 MPH when working out of the bullpen. He is listed at six feet, one inch and is only 18, which leaves room for more strength and, potentially, even more velocity down the line.
He also comes with a deep mix. Oda throws a slider, curveball, changeup, splitter and cutter, giving him five additional pitches to go with the fastball. His arsenal has been compared to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in terms of offerings.
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