"He’s basically been lights-out": Dodgers' Galen Carr shares his thoughts on 'lack of MLB experience' narrative around Yoshinobu Yamamoto
The Los Angeles Dodgers are confident that Yoshinobu Yamamoto's lack of experience in the MLB will not hamper his game in any way. Dodgers vice-president of player personnel, Galen Carr, seems very sure about the returns they are going to get from the Japanese ace.
Despite numerous record breaking and record setting stats in the NPB, a lot of the baseball community questioned whether Yamamoto deserved the attention he got from MLB clubs during his free agency.
When he signed a 12-year $325 million contract with the Dodgers, he surpassed Gerrit Cole for the largest guaranteed sum handed out to a pitcher in history without ever delivering a pitch in the league.
However, if statistics and individual accolades are a true reflection of a player's capabilities, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has certainly delivered. A 5x All Star, 3x Pacific League MVP, 3x Sawamura Award winner (Japan's Cy Young) and 3x Triple Crown winner, Yamamoto is already one of the best pitchers in the world at the age of 25.
That was certified by Galen Carr who believes that the ace's tranisition into the Dodgers uniform will be smooth.
“He’s been doing what he’s been doing for quite a while. Ever since he broke in at the top level of Japan, he’s basically been lights-out. He’s just an exceptional athlete and his raw stuff across the board is exceptional,” Carr said.
“And there’s no other way to describe it. … We obviously weren’t the only ones that felt that way within our industry."
What makes Yoshinobu Yamamoto's pitching style unbeatable?
Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a giant on the mound. He has a range of pitches that he mixes up from time to time creating doubts in the minds of batters.
He has a fastball average velocity of 95 mph, which reaches a maximum of 99 mph. He has a deadly slider that's virtually unplayable along with potent cutter and sliders. Yamamoto is also consistent with a very minimum walk rate.