Land of the rising prospect

[Hater Depot]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgrsOAXjAWCfY0yk0JnfHigRvLYF?slug=jp-japanese121207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Jeff Passan thinks MLB teams are willing to pay a lot for Japanese players partly over a fad for them, and thinks it's a little nuts to throw so much money at guys who've never been in MLB.

Does this strike anybody else as weird? How much money do teams throw at raw players signed straight out of college or high school, guys who have never even played in single-A? I know the Yankees gave Drew Henson a fat contract when he was 18. And if teams could sign away the studs from others' minor league systems you know they would. I don't think there is any "Japan premium" or fad.

[RebelAzn]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgrsOAXjAWCfY0yk0JnfHigRvLYF?slug=jp-japanese121207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns


Jeff Passan thinks MLB teams are willing to pay a lot for Japanese players partly over a fad for them, and thinks it's a little nuts to throw so much money at guys who've never been in MLB.

Does this strike anybody else as weird? How much money do teams throw at raw players signed straight out of college or high school, guys who have never even played in single-A? I know the Yankees gave Drew Henson a fat contract when he was 18. And if teams could sign away the studs from others' minor league systems you know they would. I don't think there is any "Japan premium" or fad.

Well teams just want to improve themselves. They want more options. Many Japanese players are proving they can definitely play in the MLB. Okijima from Boston is a stud and he was just an average player in Japan. Dice-K did ok but he is expected to improve this year. Both contributed to Red Sox's World Series run. There are Japanese players everywhere in the Majors. This can only help develop more future Asian professional players. Yao is doing the same for basketball. Yi is doing it too.

[Hater Depot]

Right, I'm saying Passan's opinion is weird, not the signing of Japanese players.

[RebelAzn]

Right, I'm saying Passan's opinion is weird, not the signing of Japanese players.

It is weird in that he is targeting Japanese players because we got a ton of them now in MLB. History has a ton of athletes who got big contracts who did crap on the field. Case in point is Barry Zito who was signed by the Giants. He got a huge $120M contract and he sucks balls. In comparison, BOSOX got a steal in Okijima. Oki could have got a huge contract if based on performance. Anyway, let the flood gate open and let more Asian athletes play on the big stage. If nothing else, it will help stop more negative stereotypes.