LAS VEGAS - The Los Angeles Dodgers are monitoring Japanese high school pitching sensation Shoki Oda, with General Manager Brandon Gomes calling the 18-year-old right-hander "super talented" on Tuesday.
Speaking at the annual General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, Gomes confirmed the club's interest in the Yokohama High School star but offered few details.
"I know our international (scouts) have been watching him closely," Gomes said. "Not sure how that all shakes out exactly, but I know that we think really highly of him."
The 186-centimeter Oda threw the fastest pitch ever recorded at the Japanese national high school baseball championship in August, clocking 156 kilometers per hour at Koshien Stadium.
Yokohama High School manager Hiroaki Murata earlier this month said Oda would hold interviews with over 10 Major League Baseball clubs.
Oda was selected in the first round of the Nippon Professional Baseball draft by the Yomiuri Giants but has said he plans to start his career in the United States.
The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, have expressed interest in the Hanshin Tigers' Triple Crown winner Teruaki Sato, who is seeking to move to MLB via the posting system.
Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' President of Baseball Operations, praised the left-handed hitter and said most people within the organization had seen him play.
Seiya Suzuki, a free agent after five seasons with the Chicago Cubs, is also among the top names available this offseason.
With MLB and the players' union still negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, contract talks could stall if no deal is reached before the current pact expires on Dec. 1.
Teams could therefore move quickly to complete deals for top targets before the agreement expires.
