Scouting Reports For Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami & Kazuma Okamoto For 2026
Image credit: Tatsuya Imai Photo by Sports Nippon/Getty Images)
Over the last decade, many of the top baseball stars from Japan have successfully made the jump to MLB. Among them are superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as well as several other less-heralded, but still productive, players. Last offseason saw righthanded pitcher and hard-throwing phenom Roki Sasaki come stateside to much fanfare. In 2026, another promising crop of players is headed stateside from the NPB.
The primary Japanese trio of third basemen Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto and righthanded pitcher Tatsuya Imai present opportunities for MLB teams to sign long-term deals with established NPB stars who profile as above-average regulars. This is arguably as much talent as has come over from Japan in a single class, even if greater individual talents have been posted previously.
MLB teams have exactly 45 days to negotiate a contract after a player is posted by their NPB team. Once a contract is reached during that 45-day window, the player’s NPB team is paid a release fee by the signing club based on the value of the player’s contract.
Below, Baseball America subscribers can read our 2026 scouting reports for the next wave of top Japanese players set to join MLB next season.
Tatsuya Imai, RHP
BA Grade: 60 | Risk: Low | Adjusted: 60
Born: May 9, 1998 | B-T: R-R | HT: 5-11 | WT: 154
Track Record: After winning the 2016 Summer Koshien tournament with Sakushin Gakuin, Imai made the jump directly from high school to Japanese professional baseball. He was drafted by the Seibu Lions with their first pick and spent his debut season with their Eastern League affiliate, the equivalent of Japan’s minor leagues. He broke in with Seibu’s first team in 2018 and saw mixed results over his first three seasons. He established himself as one of the top pitchers in the NPB in 2021, earning his first all-star nod. Imai was an all-star twice more in 2024 and 2025 and finished in the top 10 among starters in ERA each of his final two seasons with Seibu. Imai helped combine for a Lions no-hitter on April 18, 2025, throwing the first eight innings. On Nov. 18, 2025, Seibu posted Imai to MLB teams.
Scouting Report: Imai is an undersized righthander who’s explosive and mobile on the mound. His low three-quarters slot borders on sidearm and creates a unique approach angle to the plate that creates deception and keeps hitters off balance. Imai throws four pitches, but his primary mix consists of a four-seam fastball, slider and splitter. His four-seamer sits at 95-97 and touches 98-99 at peak with a flat plane of approach and heavy armside run. The fastball is particularly effective when located in the upper third and has been adept at generating swings and misses. Imai’s slider is his best pitch and his primary swing-and-miss weapon. It has a gyro shape, sits 85-87 and touches 88-89 with late downshift that creates unique armside movement. The combination of Imai’s low arm slot, above-average velocity and late armside break make his slider a unique offering. The splitter is Imai’s third pitch, and it features good vertical separation off his fastball and heavy armside run to work as a swing-and-miss pitch in opposite-handed matchups. Imai threw a curveball around 2% of the time in 2025, and it featured spin rates in the 2500-2600 rpm range along with around 8-9 inches of sweep. There’s a real possibility a team adds a sweeper to his arsenal. Imai struggled to throw strikes early in his career, but he has seen consistent gains in that department in each of the last four seasons. He now projects for average control.
The Future: Imai is a ready-made No. 3 MLB starter who should make an impact immediately.
Scouting Grades: FB: 55 | CB: 40 | SL: 60 | CH: 55 | CTL: 50
Munetaka Murakami, 3B
BA Grade: 55 | Risk: Mild | Adjusted: 50
Born: February 2, 2000 | B-T: L-R | HT: 6-2 | WT: 213
Track Record: Nicknamed “Murakami-Sama” as a play on the Japanese word for god (Kami-sama), Murakami is one of the most famous players in Japan. A prodigious power hitter, Murakami was a first-round pick signed by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows for 80 million yen in 2017. He became the youngest Opening Day starter in Swallows team history in 2019 at just 19 years old. Murakami won the Central League MVP award in 2021 en route to helping Yakult to their first Japan Series championship in 20 years. In 2022, Murakami set the NPB home run record for a Japanese-born player, topping Sadaharu Oh’s single-season mark of 55 on the final day of the season. In the three seasons since Murakami set the home run record, he’s struggled to replicate his 2022 production.
Scouting Report: Murakami is a true slugger. His overall profile is driven by his top-of-the-scale raw power, which he’s shown an ability to get to in games. Murakami’s overall hitting identity falls into the “three true outcomes” bucket, as he comes with significant swing-and-miss paired with premium on-base skills. Murakami shows below-average contact rates against nearly every pitch type, but he does a majority of his damage against fastballs. His sample size against premium velocity is limited, but with plus bat speed, he should be able to catch up to top-end MLB fastballs once acclimated. Murakami struggles with offspeed and spin, as evidenced by running whiff rates over 40% against splitters, changeups, curveballs and sliders during his final season in NPB. Splitters, in particular, give Murakami fits, and he’s done very little damage against them. Despite some of the worst contact rates in NPB, Murakami has been one of its most noteworthy sluggers historically. He pairs plus-plus exit velocity data with premium launch angles, hitting majestic home runs and fly balls to all parts of the park. Murakami shows enough contact to get to his power while mitigating some of the risk of his natural swing-and-miss with selective swing decisions. The ability to translate his power into 30-plus home runs annually will be paramount to Murakami’s success in MLB. Defensively, he’s limited to the infield corners and is a below-average defender at third base and first base. He lacks the speed for the corner outfield, making his most likely path to at-bats at a mix of first base, third and designated hitter.
The Future: It will likely take some time for Murakami to adjust to MLB pitching, but when he does, he has the ability to provide middle-of-the-order power with on-base skills.
Scouting Grades: HIT: 40 | POW: 70 | RUN: 30 | FLD: 40 | ARM: 50
Kazuma Okamoto, 1B/3B
BA Grade: 55 | Risk: Mild | Adjusted: 50
Born: June 30, 1996 | B-T: R-R | HT: 6-0 | WT: 212
Track Record: Known as the “Young General,” Okamoto is a six-time NPB all-star who has led the league in home runs three times. He made the Yomiuri Giants’ first team in 2018 after three years in the Eastern League, the equivalent of the Japanese minor leagues. Once breaking in, Okamoto established himself quickly, producing seven-consecutive seasons of 25 or more home runs leading up to 2025. He was a key part of Japan’s 2023 World Baseball Classic team, hitting .333/.556/.722 over seven games in the tournament. His home run off of Kyle Freeland in the fourth inning of the WBC final against the United States proved to be the deciding run. Okamoto was limited to 69 games in 2025 after an elbow injury in the first half, but he returned to hit .327/.416/.598 with 15 home runs.
Scouting Report: One of the most well-rounded players in Japan over the last decade, Okamoto is a highly-skilled player both at the plate and in the field. He combines the ability to hit for power while limiting swing-and-miss, which he shows a little of but while displaying good bat-to-ball skills compared to other sluggers. Okamoto does particular damage against fastballs, against which he whiffed less than 10% of the time in 2025. He has shown strong on-base skills, limiting chase swings and remaining aggressive on pitches inside the zone. His game power is above-average, as he combines 55-grade raw power with the ability to launch the ball to all fields. Okamoto falls into the category of hitters who make consistent hard contact at good angles but with a lack of high-end exit velocity numbers. He will likely settle into the 20-25 home run range with a good supporting batting average and on-base percentage. In the field, he’s an above-average defender at third base, and he’s won multiple equivalents of the NPB Gold Glove. He’s a plus-plus defender at first base and offers his signing team defensive versatility.
The Future: Okamoto should immediately make an impact in MLB thanks to a combination of polished hitting, game power and above-average infield corner defense.
Scouting Grades: HIT: 50 | POW: 55 | RUN: 40 | FLD: 55 | ARM: 55
