Dodgers Meet Japanese Prospect Shoki Oda at Yokohama High

The Dodgers sent Galen Carr, the club’s executive responsible for player personnel, with Japanese baseball consultant Yogo Suzuki and scouting specialist Toru Sugiura to meet Oda at Yokohama High School. The discussion lasted more than three hours. Oda’s mother and the school’s baseball coach, Hiroaki Murata, were also present.

Carr described the 18-year-old right-hander as the world’s top pitcher at his age and the most gifted Japanese pitcher since Roki Sasaki. He said the Dodgers would build a development program tailored to Oda if he joined the organization.

Oda has already met with seven clubs, among them the Tigers, Mets, Yankees, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Rangers and Phillies, and is expected to speak with 12 major-league teams. The Tokyo Giants selected him in the first round of Japan’s recent professional draft, but Oda has said he is concentrating on playing in the United States. He has named Yoshinobu Yamamoto as his favorite player; Oda shares a management company with Yamamoto and Sasaki.

The Dodgers are viewed as a leading contender to sign him. A labor dispute could delay any agreement: the current collective bargaining agreement expires December 1, and owners are set to lock out players after that date. Oda cannot sign until a replacement agreement is ratified.