Jon Morosi reports that MLB teams are scouting RHP Hiroto Saiki at the Japan Series.
Saiki just allowed two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in Game 3 of the Japan Series. The 26-year-old was impressive this season with a 1.55 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 122/44 K/BB ratio in 157 innings. Since coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2022, Saiki has posted a sub-2.00 ERA in every season. Despite his poor strikeout rate, he has a five-pitch mix that features a slider, curveball, cutter, forkball, and a four-seam fastball that can get up to 98 mph. It’s unclear if the Hanshin Tigers are going to post Saiki this offseason, but he would certainly attract plenty of interest in free agency if they did.
