The Dodgers may be lining up for another swing at the Japanese market, and this time the target is Shoki Oda, an 18-year-old right-hander whose name is already making the rounds before he’s thrown a pro pitch.
Oda, out of Yokohama High School - the same school that produced Daisuke Matsuzaka - has built a serious buzz with a fastball that hit 97.6 mph at this summer’s Koshien tournament and has reached 98 in other outings. He pairs that heater with a slider, curveball, cutter, changeup and a splitter in the high 80s, giving scouts plenty to dream on.
In October, Oda said he would skip Nippon Professional Baseball and take his career to the United States. The Yomiuri Giants still drafted him in the first round, and new manager Hideki Matsui is pushing to keep him in Japan. But according to the reporting, Oda’s mind has not changed, and the Yankees and Dodgers have surfaced as the leading suitors, with meetings with MLB clubs expected to start this week.
Los Angeles has a strong case. Over the past few years, the Dodgers have built a reputation as the place for elite Asian talent, landing Shohei Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Dylan Hernández wrote in the New York Post that the club has managed to “painting Japan blue.” Oda seems to fit that pipeline neatly: his favorite player is Yamamoto, and the only major league team he follows on Instagram is the Dodgers.
The financial side also tilts toward Los Angeles. NPB draft bonuses are capped at roughly $640,000, while the Dodgers carried a $7.2 million international bonus pool last year. One scout estimated Oda could land somewhere in the $3 million to $5 million range.
There’s one complication hanging over everything: the looming lockout and what it could mean for international signings. The collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, and MLB has already told posted NPB players like Teruaki Sato that they need to sign by then because the league is not changing its posting agreement the way it did in 2021.
Oda, though, is an amateur, so he isn’t part of the posting process. Hernández reported that he cannot sign until a new CBA is ratified. That leaves November as the Dodgers’ chance to build the relationship before the lockout changes the picture.
The timeline for Oda reaching the majors is still a long one. High school pitchers usually need time, and he’ll have to work his way through the minors like everybody else. Even with his electric stuff, two to three years is probably the earliest he’d get to Dodger Stadium.
That development runway is part of why the Dodgers’ player development reputation matters so much here. A farm system that already leans heavily on outfielders would love to add a premium arm, and Oda has the kind of profile that could make the wait worthwhile.
The Yankees are still in the mix, but Los Angeles has the clearer pitch and the stronger recent track record. If the Dodgers want to keep the Japanese pipeline flowing, the next move starts now.
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