All 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are now taking a long look at Japanese pitcher Tatsuya Imai. He’s being viewed as a potential game-changer, with a pitching style that some are comparing to the impressive debut of Toronto Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage. The 27-year-old right-hander’s foray into free agency has set off a firestorm of attention across the league.

The 30-team interest in Imai is a direct result of his undeniable success in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. In his last season of 2024, Imai’s performance was impressive. He finished with a 1.92 ERA, appearing in 24 games. His WHIP was a solid 0.892, and he managed to rack up 178 strikeouts in 163.2 innings of work. His command has clearly improved, evidenced by a significant drop in his walk rate.

It fell from over 4.0 walks per nine innings two years ago to a more manageable 2.5 BB/9 last season. Based on pitch movement data analyzed by Marquee Sports’ Lance Brozdowski, Imai’s fastball hovers near 95 mph, occasionally reaching 100. This kind of velocity would certainly put him in good company with current Major League Baseball pitchers.

Jim Bowden has projected a $154 million, 7-year deal in MLB for Imai. And comparing his data, The Athletic has marked him as “a decent bet in free agency.” And why not!

Tatsuya Imai’s arm angle, roughly 20 degrees, gives his four-seam fastball a unique quality. The movement it generates is strikingly similar to Joe Ryan’s fastball, a pitch that regularly outperforms the league average in terms of Stuff+, whiff rates, and the batting average against it.

The league’s collective focus on this matter became clear when Ross Atkins, a Toronto Blue Jays executive, explained the organization’s stance on Imai after a thorough internal review.

“A good player with a really interesting arsenal who had an incredible year.” Atkins noted that initial research confirmed Imai’s ability to make a smooth move to the majors.

The fastball is joined by a splitter, which set the record for the most usage in October, and a reverse slider that is very much like Yesavage’s style. The analogy with Trey Yesavage is significant, as it not only refers to the similarity of their pitches.

Trey Yesavage’s excellent showing was Imai’s skills, already acknowledged on the international scene, in the 2025 postseason.

His 3-1 record with a 3.58 ERA through six games and 39 strikeouts in 27.2 innings set a standard for the teams fighting for the title. The Blue Jays’ ace, a right-handed pitcher, held an octopus in October and ended with an astonishing act. He had twelve strikeouts in Game 5 of the World Series, which was indeed an overwhelming show of power.

The change of Trey Yesavage was huge; he went from a Class-A prospect to the team’s playoff star in just one year.

And now, Imai’s coming could easily lift the competitive level all over the league while being a “good buy.”

The Giants are zeroing in on Tatsuya Imai’s MLB entry as a rotation game-changer

With Imai’s arrival in MLB via the posting system, his exceptional pitching skills could be the key to unlocking San Francisco’s potential. The Giants wrapped up the 2025 season in ninth place, with their 81-81 record and a dozen games adrift of the Dodgers and well out of the postseason picture. This was a situation that called for urgent upgrades to the pitching staff.

Imai’s qualifications are impressively suitable here.

During his eight seasons in Japan, the 27-year-old racked up 907 strikeouts and posted a career ERA of 3.15. The performance throughout the past seasons is a strong indicator of the qualities that the MLB teams usually value most – durability and consistency. The match against the Doosan Bears during the spring training served as major proof that he was ready for the upcoming season.

In three innings, he struck out six batters and let no one reach the bases. He threw one pitch with a speed of 156 km/h while his slider and forkball were completely untouchable.

At the moment, the San Francisco Giants’ pitching roster is spearheaded by Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. And the inevitable departure of Justin Verlander from the free-agent pool looms large.

Imai can smoothly take over and steady the starting spot.

Tatsuya Imai, as a newcomer, is a mainstay. He is the basis on which San Francisco can start to rebuild its dreams of a title.