Can Yoshinobu Yamamoto Continue His Dominance in the MLB?

In a normal offseason, signing a player to a 12-year $325 million deal would be a team's biggest acquisition, but with Shohei Ohtani signing with the Dodgers for $700 million, it has been anything but a normal offseason.

With the addition of Ohtani, the Dodgers fortified their lineup but were still in need of some pitching. In Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they filled that need. With the incorporation of starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow as well, the Dodgers are the odds-on favorites to win the World Series (+380 on FanDuel).

Let's take a look to see who Yamamoto is and what could be in store for him in fantasy leagues in 2024. Also, make sure to check out RotoBaller's full list of ranked players before your drafts!

Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Fantasy Baseball Outlook for 2024

Yamamoto couldn't find himself in a better setting, with a team built to win now. The Dodgers were second in the MLB last season in runs scored per game (5.53/game), but have swapped out J.D. Martinez for Shohei Ohtani in an already powerful lineup spearheaded by future Hall of Famers Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, 2023 All-Star catcher Will Smith, third-place NL Rookie of the Year finisher James Outman, and Max Muncy who hit 36 home runs last season.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s splitter is filthy.

90 mph, 2” iVB, 10-12” arm-side, ~1500 rpm, 48% whiff in the WBC. Had ~15” arm-side, 38% whiff in NPB.

Dropping 14-15” more than his 4S, only ~5 mph slower. Money combo for whiffs.

WBC plot below showing large variance in the shape,… pic.twitter.com/T6lnfqNisQ

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) December 22, 2023

Yamamoto's main repertoire includes a four-seam fastball, splitter, curveball, and cutter. The four-seamer is used around 45% of the time and sits around 95 mph. The nasty splitter is used about 30% of the time and clocks in around 90 mph. It is effective against both righties and lefties. Los Angeles fans should be happy to hear that his 77-mph curveball, used about 15% of the time, has been compared to that of Clayton Kershaw's, albeit from the right side. Yamamoto goes to the cutter about 10% of the time.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Fastball & Curveball, Overlay.
Also see his unique curveball release.
One of the prettiest RHP curveballs in the world!

Yamamoto: 16-5, 1.42 ERA (170 innings) and has won his last 13 decisions.
Leads NPB in nearly every major pitching category. pic.twitter.com/GgeQul7q27

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 2, 2021

Will Yamamoto's stuff be effective against MLB hitters? All signs point to yes. While Yamamoto will be a rookie in the MLB this upcoming season, he is by no means inexperienced. He has pitched for the Orix Buffaloes of the NPB since 2017 from the age of 18. He's won three straight Sawamura Awards, the NPB's Cy Young Award equivalent. He's pitched for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, facing MLB hitters throughout the competition and doing so with success.

Above are stats from his last three seasons. While it's reasonable to expect him to be successful in 2024, it would be unreasonable to expect the type of dominance he experienced in Japan. Nevertheless, his NFBC ADP currently sits at 70th overall, going just after Blake Snell, Logan Webb, and Max Fried, but before the likes of Eury Perez and Bobby Miller, which is to say he's appropriately priced. If some of the hype causes him to drift higher he might become overvalued, so stay vigilant.

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