Since the meteoric rise of Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani in the MLB, NPB, Japan’s professional baseball league, has been getting exponentially more attention. While the Land of the Rising Sun has had a rich history with future MLBers such as Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, Ohtani’s ascent has put all eyes on Japanese prospects. In the past two MLB off-seasons, fans have witnessed stud outfielders in Seiya Suzuki and Masataka Yoshida sign contracts with a combined $200 million value. But what if I told you that the Japanese prospect pool could get even deeper and more talented? Let’s take a trip out East and see who else is on the MLB docket in the coming years.

Let’s begin with a player that many American baseball fans likely know well by now- Munetaka Murakami. Even before the 23 year old third-baseman was smashing home runs off of some of America’s best pitchers in the World Baseball Classic, he made his name well known throughout baseball circles through his hitting dominance in NPB. Since joining the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2018, Murakami has been an absolute force in Japanese baseball. On top of holding a great .280 batting average, Murakami has hit a staggering 160 home runs in just over 4 years on the Japanese circuit. He also boasts 430 RBIs and 40 stolen bases thus far in his short career. 

Murakami’s efforts have been rewarded handsomely by the league – he’s fresh off winning back-to-back Central League MVP awards, along with the Japanese Triple Crown. He’s led the Central League in home runs for the past two years (including hitting 56 this past season, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s single-season record of 55), and he’s attained 3 All-Star selections and Best Nine awards during his time in Japan. It’s safe to say that the NPB record book has become an autograph session for Murakami.

While not a notable fielder, Murakami does his job well enough to be at least league-average, which is no great caveat considering his otherworldly offensive ability. The best aspect of Murakami’s profile is that he’s just 25 years old. Whichever team signs him when he is posted in the coming years will be treated to the athletic prime of quite possibly the greatest power hitter in NPB history. If that doesn’t get you excited about him, then I don’t know what will.

Next in line to join the MLB appears to be Roki Sasaki. If the nickname “The Monster of the Reiwa Era” doesn’t hype you up for this guy, his stats and raw talent certainly will. Sasaki’s two short seasons in NPB have netted him a 12-6 record with a superb 2.10 ERA and 241 strikeouts. He’s only gotten better in his sophomore season, which was punctuated by an NPB All Star appearance and a perfect game on April 10th. Sasaki’s physical ability is downright ludicrous. He regularly throws over 100 and set the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown by a Japanese pitcher at 102.5 MPH (breaking Shohei Ohtani’s record of 102 MPH). Even better, Sasaki is just 21 years old and arguably isn’t even in his physical prime yet. By the time he gets posted to the MLB, Sasaki could make a case as the best pitcher in the entire world. He’s just that talented.

Finally, we have Sasaki’s contemporary, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yamamoto flew under the radar in the World Baseball Classic thanks to the prestige of Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish (as well as the sheer hype around Sasaki), but he’s the real deal. Many NPB fans believe that he’s the league’s best player, and it’s easy to see why once you look at his stats. Yamamoto has a career ERA of 1.95. He’s won back-to-back Pacific League MVP awards, Eiji Sawamura awards, and Japanese Triple Crowns. He’s a 3-time Pacific League ERA champion, 4-Time NPB All-Star, 2-time Best Nine award winner, and 2-Pacific League Gold Glove award winner. Listing even half of this guy’s awards would legitimately cause me to run out of breath. He is, in my opinion, the single best player in Japanese baseball, and he may be an even better pitcher than Japanese legends such as Ohtani and Darvish. When the 24-year old gets posted, don’t be surprised to see him fetch a contract that goes well over $100 million. He will dominate the MLB once his Japanese run ends, and his deceptive style of pitching should be a breath of fresh air in an MLB era dominated by flamethrowers, although his fastball tops out at 99 MPH.

There you have it – three of NPB’s brightest stars who could make their way to the MLB in the coming years. Until they do, though, I would implore everyone who reads this article to watch NPB baseball – it’s a truly amazing league comparable to the MLB, and it’s flush with baseball’s brightest stars and most respected veterans. Happy opening day!