Teams and journalists have not been able to observe Shohei Otani perform in games due to his hamstring issues, but this particular writer talked with 5 anonymous team officials with international scouting-related positions to get their respective reads on the Japanese phenom and it's quite an interesting read, which I highly recommend.
As much as I've cited below, there is much, much more.Chuck Wasserstrom, MLBTradeRumors.com (5/23/17)The Fighters have been very judicious in the way they’ve handled Otani on the mound. His career high for games started is 24; his career high in innings pitched is 160.2. As a point of comparison, Yu Darvish pitched for Nippon Ham from 2005 (his age-18 season) through 2011 (his age-24 season). In his seven years with the club, Darvish threw 1,268.1 innings – surpassing the 200-innings mark four times.
“I actually see it as the organization viewing him as an asset – and they’ve protected him,” one scout said. “They’ve brought him along the right way, and they haven’t pushed him. They recognize that he’s still young and still growing, and they’ve really taken the time to research how the body grows. Knowing that he’s still growing, they’ve skipped starts when they’ve had to and scaled back when he wasn’t feeling that great. I honestly think that’s a testament to the organization and the kid for knowing his body.”
Said a second scout, “I think it’s awesome. It shows a commitment to him on their part. Look at (Masahiro) Tanaka or Darvish or (Kenta) Maeda; at 20 years old, they were already throwing close to 200 innings. Even at a young age, it was ‘Hey, you’re our ace. Go get them.’ But Nippon Ham has done an excellent job of protecting him. They’ve prolonged his career by not abusing him.”
...
“If he was a two-way guy in the States, you’d make him a position player first,” one of the scouts said. “John Olerud, Ike Davis, guys like that … if they fail hitting, then we’ll put them on the mound. But he’s been such a special talent from both sides of the ball. Nippon Ham was smart how they did that. They drafted him out of high school and let him do both. It’s almost like they told him, ‘We’ll let you continue to develop so that you can go to the States.’”
...
Four of the five scouts dropped the name Yu Darvish into the conversation. Two scouts said Justin Verlander. One scout brought up a handful of names, both past and present.
“I compare him to guys like Josh Beckett, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan … you know, power pitchers,” he said. “These guys were able to pitch with their fastballs and secondary stuff. If you look at Otani’s stuff and the ability to throw strikes, he’s right up there with the (Dwight) Goodens, the Ryans, the Becketts, the more modern-day (Noah) Syndergaards. The power right-hander. He has an 80 fastball, but he also has plus-plus secondary stuff and the ability to throw a ton of strikes and command the strike zone.”
...
There was agreement across the board that Otani’s future grade as a hitter was in the 45-to-50 range.
“I think if he plays every day in the big leagues and he gets his at bats, he’d hit .260 to .275 with 20-to-25 homers,” said one scout.
Another scout echoed that assessment. “He’s probably 45ish. I think he would hit in the .260s with 25-plus home runs,” he said.
...
Four of the scouts categorized him as having 70 power. A fifth even said he’s put a future 80 on that tool. “At the plate, he has an approach geared for power. Best case scenario, the hit tool will be average, but when he does connect, it’s pretty special power.”
Scouting Shohei Otani
