Dodgers visit Japanese teenage phenom at his high school

The Los Angeles Dodgers sent three representatives to Yokohama High School to meet Japanese teenage pitcher Shoki Oda, in a visit reported to have lasted more than three hours. The meeting signals the club’s strong interest in signing the 18-year-old, whom its vice-president of player personnel called the world’s best pitcher his age and Japan’s most talented prospect since Roki Sasaki.

Oda has met several other MLB teams and is expected to speak with 12 in total. Though selected in the first round of Japan’s recent professional draft by the Tokyo Giants, he has said he is focused on moving to the United States. The Dodgers are considered favourites to sign him, but a players’ lockout is due to begin when MLB’s collective-bargaining agreement expires on 1 December, and Oda could not sign until a new agreement is ratified.