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Kodai Senga 2023 MLB Outlook: Japanese Star Set To Make Eagerly Awaited MLB Debut
2 years agoKodai Senga was the most sought-after international free agent this offseason and the Mets were the ones to sign him to a five-year $75M contract. He comes to MLB with a career 87-44 W-L record, 2.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 1,252 Ks in 1089.0 IP over the course of 11 seasons in Japan. Last year was something of a career year for Senga as he had a 1.94 ERA over 144.0 IP with 156 Ks while walking just 49 batters he faced. Senga's fastball sits in the upper-90s while his 'forkball' is well revered and has helped with his high strikeout numbers. Projections generally have Senga posting an ERA of 3.50 – 3.90 this year over ~150.0 IP, which will certainly be an impressive debut season in MLB. There's always the unknown element with a player moving countries and the impact it can have on them. While every player is different, going back and looking at other Japanese pitchers in their debut MLB season should help ease some concerns. Yu Darvish, Kenta Maeda and Shohei Ohtani all put up a sub-4.00 ERA in their first seasons with Darvish and Maeda topping 150.0 IP. With an ADP of ~196, if Senga is able to match his projections and predecessors, he can undoubtedly provide fantasy value this year.
