Yoshinobu

Yamamoto

Yamamoto racked up six strikeouts on the evening and didn’t allow a base on balls. The only blemish on his night was a two-run blast off the bat of Geraldo Perdomo in the fourth inning. Aside from that, he was in complete command. The 27-year-old right-hander piled up 16 swings and misses on the night — half of them on his splitter — while registering a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling when he squares off against the Guardians on Wednesday.

Sheehan will follow Opening Day starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto with Tyler Glasnow closing out a three-game season-opening series against Arizona. It’ll be Roki Sasaki followed by Shohei Ohtani early next week to kick off a three-game set against the Guardians at Dodger Stadium. There are some reasons for mild concern with Sheehan fantasy-wise after experiencing some diminished velocity this spring but he’s still going to be a viable mixed-league fantasy contributor. It’ll be Justin Wrobleski operating in a piggyback role, most likely with either Sheehan or Sasaki the first time through the rotation.

Yamamoto got 14 whiffs on 32 swings in his 68-pitch outing. He closes out the spring with a 2.79 ERA in his three starts for the Dodgers, and he’ll next face the Diamondbacks on Opening Day.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the official announcement after Yamamoto returned from the World Baseball Classic. No surprise here after he helped lead Los Angeles to their second consecutive World Series title with multiple herculean performances during last year’s postseason, finishing with a sublime 1.45 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 33/6 K/BB ratio over 36 2/3 postseason innings.. The 27-year-old fantasy ace is a top-five starter in drafts this spring after compiling a sparkling 2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 201/59 K/BB ratio across 173 2/3 innings in 30 regular-season starts.

The right-hander punched out five on the night while issuing one base on balls. He served up a leadoff homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. to open the ballgame, then allowed an RBI double to Gleyber Torres in the second. Yamamoto generated nine swings and misses on 69 pitches, posting a CSW of 32 percent. He’ll now return to Dodgers’ camp much earlier than anticipated and continue getting ready for the start of the regular season.

Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto will toe the rubber for Japan as the defending WBC champions host Venezuela at loanDepot park in Miami. It’s a challenging assignment for Suárez having to face a loaded Japan lineup that is headlined by generational talent Shohei Ohtani. The winner of Saturday’s contest will face whoever emerges from a highly-anticipated matchup between Puerto Rico and Italy in the semifinals.

Yamamoto didn’t allow a single hit in this one, but he also struggled to put hitters away. He threw 82 percent first pitch strikes, so he got ahead easily, but he didn’t get many chases out of the zone on his splitter or curve, which made it hard for him to put away hitters. Still, his velocity looked good, and his pitch shapes all seem normal, so there isn’t much to be concerned about from a fantasy perspective this season.

It’s unusual to see the 27-year-old hurler hit so hard, so perhaps he was working on some things during this outing. Yamamoto allowed a leadoff homer to Willy Adames then the Giants scratched out another run against him in the second on a pair of hits and a ground ball. He got eight whiffs on 52 pitches on the afternoon — four of them on his splitter — while registering an elite CSW of 38 percent. This was his final Cactus League start before Yamamoto departs to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic. Fantasy managers shouldn’t worry about this one, Yamamoto is still worthy of being one of the top five starting pitchers off the board in all drafts this spring.

Yamamoto’s defense was less-than-spectacular, but the 27-year-old limited the damage thanks to the punchouts. He’s coming off a spectacular regular season on top of his postseason heroics, and he should be one of the very first starters off the board in all eligible drafts.

This will likely be his only start with the Dodgers before he joins Team Japan for the World Baseball Classic. The 27-year-old right-hander is coming off of a ridiculous 2025 campaign where he posted a stellar 2.49 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 201/59 K/BB ratio across 173 2/3 innings and followed it up with one of the most dominant postseason performances in recent memory. Yamamoto currently sits as the fourth starting pitcher off the board in fantasy drafts, behind only Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes and Garrett Crochet.