COLUMN: Is Ohtani the next big thing?

     There is a new player coming to one lucky team in professional baseball. His name is Shohei Ohtani and he hails from Japan.

     You might be saying to yourself right now, hmm, no big deal, many Japanese players have come to the United States and most have been average.

     Well, I am here to tell you Ohtani is not like those Japanese players that came before him. Ohtani has a unique skill set, unheard of in major league baseball. He excels in Japan as both a pitcher and a position player.

     Since I have been a baseball fan, I don’t recall anyone doing double duty as a pro. Two players attempted it, Hunter Greene and Brendan McKay, but both were short-lived.

     And we’ve had your dual sports players, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson to name a couple. But for a player to come in and pitch and play the field as an everyday player, that’s unheard of.

     Here is a little bit of information on this guy’s skillset. As a pitcher, he has hit the radar consistently in the upper 90s and can throw 100 mph. In Japan as a professional, he holds the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown at 102.5. In high school he holds the same record at 99 mph.

     He is believed to be a top of the rotation starter. He’s a three plus pitcher who stands tall at 6-foot-5 and has very easy mechanics, which can translate into someone not likely to be injury-prone. He compares to Washington pitcher Stephen Strasburg according to most scouts.

     As a hitter most scouts view him as a big, strong guy who could hit for power. He has shortened his swing up, which is a must to handle major league pitching. He also possesses above average speed and of course, has a cannon for an arm in the outfield.

     Most scouts believe he will get a legitimate shot to play both ways.

     Now the big question is who will be the lucky team to sign Ohtani? Two teams have already been eliminated, the Yankees and Red Sox. Reports are Ohtani prefers to be out on the West Coast with a smaller market team.

     Teams that are considered in the running per an ESPN report are the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Giants, Mariners, Rangers and Cubs. All but the Rangers and Cubs fit his criteria.

     Also according to ESPN, Ohtani is limited to signing a minor league contract due to the MLB collective bargaining agreement.

     Money talks, and the Rangers ($3,535,000), Mariners ($1,557,500) and Angels ($1,315,000) are the three teams with the highest international player-signing bonus available.  That explains why the Rangers are being considered.

     The Cubs, Dodgers and Giants sit on the low end, each with only $300,000 max available for signing bonuses. So that stat surprises me that the Cubs are still being considered. I read somewhere that the Cubs have been most vocal about the idea of Ohtani playing both ways and have really put together an impressive presentation to his reps.

     Another factor is whoever does sign the Japanese star will have to pay his Japanese team, the Nippon Ham Fighters the maximum $20 million posting fee.

     I’m excited to see this star player make it to the big leagues and if he does land with the Cubs, that will be icing on the cake for myself and many other Cub fans.