It's not just Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto! Outlook for Japanese Major Leaguers this year

Veteran Kenta Maeda vows to make a comeback after the humiliating season last year.

Kenta Maeda of the Detroit Tigers is entering his milestone 10th season in Major League Baseball. A representative Japanese right-handed pitcher who has accumulated 165 wins in his combined career in Japan and the US, Maeda was demoted from starter to reliever midway through last season and finished with a disappointing record of 3 wins and 7 losses and an ERA of 6.09, and did not get a chance to pitch in the postseason. Since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021, his performance has been declining year by year, so he is determined to make 2025 a success.

During the offseason, he started playing catch and training two months earlier than usual, significantly improving his conditioning methods. He realized that "the same conditioning methods as when I was younger won't get me anywhere," and spent time restoring his physical sharpness. He also made a major decision regarding his breaking balls. He decided to abandon the sweeper pitch, which is thrown by many pitchers in the majors. Based on his bitter experience of getting hit hard more often because his pursuit of a sweeper with a large break caused his signature slider to break too fast, he is now focusing solely on improving the precision of his slider.

He has shown consistent results in spring training, and there is a good chance he will make the starting rotation. He seems poised to make a comeback as a starting pitcher, following in the footsteps of last season's Cy Young Award winner Tariq Skúval, Jack Flaherty (who joined from the Dodgers), and Rhys Olson.

Koudai Senga will surprise New Yorkers once again with his blazing fastball and forkball.

Koudai Senga of the New York Mets has been shutting down powerful hitters with his fastball, which reaches a top speed of 164 km/h, and his forkball, nicknamed the "ghost fork," which has a large drop. In his first year after moving to the majors from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2023, he posted an impressive record of 12 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 2.98, captivating the passionate fans of New York. However, last season he suffered frequent injuries to his shoulder, upper arm, and calf, and was limited to just one appearance. But Senga is burning with passion to make a comeback.

After spending the offseason in rehabilitation, Senga joined spring training this season in perfect physical condition. He meticulously worked on getting his body back in shape, starting with checking his pitching form. In the open games, he overpowered opposing batters with his 154 km/h fastball, while also throwing his signature forkball and the sinker he has started throwing seriously, demonstrating his complete recovery with its unique movement. The manager and the media envision Senga as a potential ace pitcher and are expecting him to win 15 or more games.

Yusei Kikuchi, the "thinking" southpaw aiming for the most wins.

After joining the Saitama Seibu Lions, Yusei Kikuchi steadily developed as a genuine left-handed pitcher who could throw fastballs in the high 150 km/h range, and in 2017 he won the most wins and best ERA title. In 2019, he made a highly anticipated move to the Seattle Mariners, where he recorded a respectable 6 wins. However, after that, Kikuchi had a series of disappointing seasons. The turning point came in 2023 after he moved to the Toronto Blue Jays. He switched to a pitching style that emphasized control, and achieved an 11-6 record with a 3.86 ERA, reaching the required number of innings pitched for the first time. In 2024, he was traded to the Houston Astros mid-season, but he quickly integrated into the team and displayed stable pitching.

Kikuchi, who signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Angels, considers this season to be the culmination of his career, and he diligently trained and conditioned during the offseason. He also focused on improving the control of his changeup, which, despite having a low batting average against it, often missed the outside corner against right-handed batters. Thanks to his efforts, he was named the opening day starter. Known for his love of reading and his studious nature, Kikuchi will challenge for the most wins with his thoughtful pitching style, which surpasses the data-driven baseball of Major League Baseball.

Masataka Yoshida, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder, faces a crucial season...

Masataka Yoshida, the Boston Red Sox's left-handed hitter who batted cleanup in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, is aiming to redeem himself this season after suffering from severe right shoulder pain.

In 2024, his second year in the majors, Yoshida posted respectable numbers with a batting average of .280 and 10 home runs, but his performance was a step down from the previous year, leading to trade rumors during the offseason. This was because he was often used as a designated hitter due to right shoulder pain, and was compared to other slugger candidates for the DH position. Aiming to return to playing in left field, Yoshida decided to undergo surgery on his right shoulder labrum during the offseason. Currently, he is in the rehabilitation phase and has been playing as a DH in spring training games, but with his shoulder pain healed, his characteristic skillful bat control has become sharper, and he is hitting strong balls to the opposite field.

However, local media are reporting that "it is highly likely he will start the season on the injured list," and it is expected that he will return to left field once his shoulder is fully recovered. As a Japanese hitter with power that rivals Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki, he is unlikely to give up so easily.

Shintaro Fujinami, a powerful pitcher aiming to rise through the ranks from the minor leagues.

Shintaro Fujinami, who throws at a top speed of 165 km/h with a powerful form that makes the most of his 198 cm height, has signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners this season and is participating in spring training as an invited player, striving to be promoted to the major leagues.

Last season, Fujinami joined the New York Mets, but his control, which has been a weakness, was inconsistent, leading to numerous walks and hit batsmen, ultimately resulting in his own downfall. He ended the season in the minor leagues. Since moving to the majors in 2023, he has failed to produce any results, which has made Fujinami anxious. In the offseason, he participated in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He was willing to do anything to regain his composure and pitching style in actual games. In addition to his cut fastball and splitter, he has also been experimenting with a high-speed two-seam fastball that naturally sinks, continuing his struggles to return to the majors.

However, in the spring training games so far, he has had both dominant, scoreless games and games where he has been in complete disarray, so the coaching staff's evaluation of him is not very positive. In particular, he has been giving up a lot of walks and hit batters after getting two outs, and it seems he hasn't been able to overcome his control problems. He undoubtedly has world-class potential, so we hope he can earn a call-up to the majors for the first time in two years.

This season, 16 Japanese players will be playing in Major League Baseball, including those on minor league contracts. I encourage you to keep an eye on the movements of all of them, including those returning to Japan and those introduced here.