Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s career got off to a rough start in Seoul, South Korea, but since then, he has looked every bit like the Los Angeles Dodgers expected.
Over seven MLB starts, he’s posted a 2.91 ERA with 42 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP in 34 innings. When removing his MLB debut, his ERA drops to 1.64 over 33 innings with 40 strikeouts to seven walks with a 0.97 WHIP.
Even though his career got off to a shaky start, the Dodgers expressed confidence in him. That was also echoed by Austin Barnes, following Yamamoto’s start against the Cubs, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
“I think Yoshi’s awesome,” said Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes. “I think he’s going to be fine. Obviously he’s pitched great against the Cardinals, pitched really good today. When he gets his feet under him, I think he’ll be one of the best pitchers in this game.”
The Dodgers have seemed to find a true front-end arm, while making him the highest paid starting pitcher in league history. Yamamoto’s jump into MLB is not lost on those playing behind him, as his elite arsenal is a delight to watch:
“He’s been really good. And you know, it’s kind of what we expected,” said Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy. “That’s what everyone expected when you talk about the kind of contract that he got. But it’s been really, really fun to watch.”
Yamamoto is precenting runs, striking hitters out and limiting walks, but the next step for him is to start pitching deeper into games and become more efficient.
He has thrown six innings in each of his last three starts, but the Dodgers would like to see him get through the seventh, and possibly deeper as well. Still, his consecutive starts of six innings with no earned runs allowed is nothing to scoff at.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto staying calm and adjusting to MLB
After coming to MLB from Japan, it was fair to expect Yamamoto to need some time to settle in. And it now seems he has as he noted some adjustments he had to make and attributed his turnaround to staying calm during starts.
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