Roki Sasaki sparks major scramble from every MLB team – meet the new Paul Skenes who will barely cost a dime

MAJOR League Baseball is seeing an influx of pitching prospects heralding from Japan, and perhaps the best of the bunch is coming over this offseason.

Roki Sasaki is only 23 years old, but he has the ability to become one of the best pitchers in baseball the second he steps foot on an American diamond.

Sasaki is a four-year veteran in Nippon Professional Baseball, the highest level of baseball in Japan .

As the ace of the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki has pitched to a 2.02 ERA in 69 games over his four seasons of play.

The young ace has also displayed his talents on the international stag, pitching in the 2023 World Baseball Classic that was full of MLB talents.

In a game against Mexico , Sasaki pitched four innings, allowing three runs and notching three strikeouts for Japan.

Read more on MLB That Mexico team features MLB players like Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo, and Isaac Paredes.

Sasaki also pitched 3.2 innings against Czechia in the tournament and struck out eight batters in that short appearance.

His talent and anticipation rivals that of Paul Skenes, who made it to the big leagues and won Rookie of the Year just the season after he was drafted.

Sasaki has the ability to follow that same trajectory with his career wherever he signs.

Most read in Baseball The Japanese ace has done plenty to prove he has what it takes to compete in Major League Baseball , and he likely warrants a massive contract.

His fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto secured a 12-year, $325 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, and Sasaki is likely a more valuable prospect.

However, Sasaki is unable to sign a contract of this value, making his posting from NPB to MLB especially hectic.

Because of his age, Sasaki is classified as an international amateur free agent and is subject to limitations on his contract.

The limitations mean that Sasaki's contract cannot exceed nine figures.

He will also be under contract with his new team through 2030.

Whatever team signs Sasaki will also pay the Marines 20 percent of the guaranteed value of his contract.

The Marines could have held Sasaki for two more years and collected a much larger payday on his posting, like the Orix Buffaloes did with Yamamoto.

However, the team allowed Sasaki to follow his dreams of pitching in America earlier in his career.

"From the time he joined the organization, we were told by [Sasaki] of his dream to play in America," Chiba Lotte GM Naoki Matsumoto said in a statement.

"Taking into account the last five years as a whole, we have decided to prioritize his thoughts.

"We are hoping he does his best as a representative of Japan.

We are cheering for him." American League C: Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Orioles) 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

(Toronto Blue Jays) 2B: Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) 3B: Jose Ramirez (Cleveland Guardians) SS: Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles) OF: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) OF: Steven Kwan (Cleveland Guardians) OF: Juan Soto (New York Yankees) DH: Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros) National League C: William Contreras (Milwaukee Brewers) 1B: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) 2B: Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks) 3B: Alec Bohm (Philadelphia Phillies) SS: Trea Turner (Philadelphia Phillies) OF: Jurickson Profar (San Diego Padres) OF: Teoscar Hernandez (Los Angeles Dodgers) OF: Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) DH: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) Sasaki follows a similar path that superstar Shohei Ohtani followed when he first entered Major League Baseball in 2017.

Ohtani signed for a $2.3 million bonus and a league-minimum salary that was $545,000 per year at the time.

The low value of Sasaki's upcoming contract means nearly every MLB team is capable of signing the young superstar to their squad without much of an issue.

Sasaki was posted on November 9, and the current international signing period runs through December 15.

If he isn't signed before that date, another signing period for 2025 opens up a month later.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expects that Sasaki will sign in the second period.

"It kind of looks like the way it's going to shake out that the signing there, just because of the timing, will happen in the new pool period," he said.

There isn't much info on where Sasaki desires to play, but the West Coast teams are among the favorites as they usually are with Japanese players.

Read More on The US Sun The Dodgers are seen as the favorites to pair Sasaki up with his Samurai Japan teammates Ohtani and Yamamoto, but the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants are both in play for him.

On the East Coast, both the New York Mets and Yankees have expressed interest in the international phenom, but they aren't expected to end up landing him..

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