Some of the brightest stars in Major League Baseball have come by way of Nippon Professional Baseball. Last offseason, Shōta Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto made headlines when they signed with MLB teams. This offseason, these five players could highlight the class of stars making the jump from NPB to MLB.
RHP Rōki Sasaki (Posting)
Previous Team: Chiba Lotte Marines
2024 stats: 10-5, 18 G, 111 IP, 129 K, 2.35 ERA, 1 CG
Sasaki will be the most coveted MPB player this winter. The 23-year-old is a two-time NPB All-Star and is forgoing a lot of money by posting this early. He is an amateur free agent, meaning teams can only sign him from funds allotted in the international signing bonus pool. He holds the NPB record for strikeouts in a single game with 19.
LHP Shinnosuke Ogasawara (Posting)
Previous Team: Chunichi Dragons
2024 Stats: 5-11, 24 G, 144.1 IP, 82 K, 3.12 ERA
Ogasawara has played in NPB for nine seasons. He has recorded 757 career strikeouts. He was an NPB All-Star in 2023. The 27-year-old has much more experience than Sasaki but may not be the same caliber of player. He is a 5-foot-11 lefty, similar to Imanaga. Imanaga signed a four-year, $53 million deal last offseason but is slightly older than Ogasawara.
RHP Kōyō Aoyagi (Posting)
Previous Team: Hanshin Tigers
2024 Stats: 2-3, 12 G, 61 IP, 35 K, 3.69 ERA
Ayoagi helped lead the Tigers to a Japan Series title in 2023. The submarine/sidewinder could be an intriguing player for MLB teams to sign. He did not have his best season in 2024, playing in just 12 Central League Games. In 2022, he threw four complete games and had a 2.05 ERA in 162 1/3 innings. He is a three-time NPB All-Star.
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
Previous Team: Yomiuri Giants
2024 Stats: 15-3, 24 G, 156.2 IP, 111 K, 1.67 ERA
After Sasaki, Sugano might be the most interesting NPB player looking to join MLB. He is 35 years old and has been pitching in NPB since 2013. He made a start against the United States in the World Baseball Classic in 2017 and struck out six. He is a two-time Central League MVP, two-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner, eight-time NPB All-Star, and Triple Crown winner.
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