It was announced yesterday that Masataka Yoshida will offically be posted for major league teams, setting the stage for a transfer from the reigning champion Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s professional league to the United States (or Canada).
You can glean some basic info from news posts or his Baseball Reference page: Yoshida is a 29-year-old outfielder, he’s won two batting titles, he hits plenty of homers and never seems to strike out, etc. But to get a good overall sense of what Yoshida is like and how he’s perceived by Japanese fans, I find it helpful to test drive incoming players in the two major Japanese baseball video games of our time: eBaseball Pro Yakyuu Spirits and eBaseball Powerful Pro Yakyuu. Footage from the realistic-looking Pro Yakyuu Spirits starts at 0:00 in the video below, and footage from the cartoony Powerful Pro Yakyuu starts at 7:26.
Here are translations of his attributes in both games:
Attributes in eBaseball Pro Yakyuu Spirits 2021: Grand Slam
Contact vs. Righties: B 78
Contact vs. Lefties: B 71
Power: B 72
Running Speed: D 57
Defense Skill: D 54
Throwing Accuracy: D 52
Arm Strength: F 39
Fatigue Recovery: B 73
Special traits:
– Artist (easier to hit home runs with power swing)
– Injury Proneness D
– Bunt Skill D
– Clutch Hitting D
– Baserunning Skill D
– Base Stealing D
– Big Stage Player
– Presence (lowers the ability of the opposing pitcher)
– High-Average Hitter (easier to get hits with contact swing)
– Multi-Hit (abilities increase after he already has two hits in a game)
– Two-Strike Hitter
– Repeater (more likely to hit home runs after he already has one)
– Gets Infield Hits
Player Style:
– Swing Aggressiveness: F (as in, he tends to work the count)
– Patience: C
– Popular
– Strong Hitter
– Aggressive Baserunner
– Summer Man
Attributes in eBaseball Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2022
Launch Angle: 4 (High)
Contact: B 74
Power: B 72
Running Speed: D 57
Arm Strength: F 39
Defense Ability: E 47
Error Proneness: D 54
Special traits:
– High-Average Hitter
– Multi-Hit
– Two-Strike Hitter
– Gets Infield Hits
– Hits Inside Pitches
– Tough Out (fouls off two-strike pitches)
– Multi-Homer
– Bad Ball Hitter (can swing outside the strike zone)
– Good Eye
Player Style:
– Leo Killer (Good against the Seibu Lions)
– Summer Man
– Festival Man (good in special games)
– Careful Hitter (patient)
– Aggressive Baserunner
What I Learned
- It stands out to me how short Yoshida is. He’s listed at 173cm or 5’8″, which would make him one of the ~15 shortest players in Major League Baseball. Cedric Mullins, Steven Kwan, and Mookie Betts have been really successful at around this size. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when I saw his home run numbers I wasn’t expecting a guy who’s a touch smaller than Nori Aoki.
- Everything I read about Yoshida calls him an outfielder, but in all the games I played besides the interleague one against the Swallows, he played DH. And sure enough, you look a little harder at his Baseball Reference page and you’ll find he only touched the outfield in 40 games last year, out of 121 games total.
His defensive ratings are just okay in both games, but both give him an F rating for arm strength. Teams may have to live with Yoshida being more or less a bat-only player. - Yoshida has an all-around offensive skillset. Really high average, takes his walks, avoids strikeouts, and hits a decent number of home runs. The baserunning and defense are just okay. Would Michael Brantley be a good comp?
- Based on the home run celebration in Pro Yakyuu Spirits, he seems to do the “too sweet” hand thing with teammates. Probably not meant to be a wrestling reference, but who can say. We do know he’s a Bryce Harper megafan.
Conclusion
Comparing Yoshida against Seiya Suzuki, who I performed the same exercise with last year, I think it’s safe to assume Yoshida is a slightly lesser talent. Suzuki had similar offensive ratings with a tick more power, and he had a good defensive profile for right field and a little more speed. Suzuki also got to come to MLB for his age 27 season, whereas Yoshida will turn 30 next July.
Yoshida looks like a really good hitter who I suspect will have his market weighed down by age and defensive concerns. The standard of hitting required to play DH or a defensively-limited corner OF spot in MLB is just so high. But I hope there is enough interest either from an MLB team or Yoshida in coming over regardless that he finds a role and a salary that he is happy with.
If Yoshida does sign with a team that can hand him a clear starting role, I’ll be interested in him as a late-round pick in fantasy baseball. The batting average and on-base percentage should be excellent, and there should be enough home runs to make him a strong all-around contributor with a few chip-in steals.