▪NPB Pitcher Watchlist
ORIGINAL RESEARCH — NPB → MLB PITCHING TRANSLATION

Who pitches
next in MLB?

Twenty-seven current NPB pitchers benchmarked against the last decade of Japanese arms who made the jump — and exactly how their numbers moved once they got there.

2025–2026 NPB stats as of July 16, 2026 · FanGraphs data

01 — THE WATCHLIST

Current NPB arms with MLB upside

Every pitcher here is still active in Japan. Sort the ledger by any column, or search by name and team. Rows expand for scouting notes and MLB player comps where noted.

Under 25 years old Meets an elite statistical threshold (see Trends tab)
Pitcher Role IP ERA FIP K/9 BB/9 K/BB WHIP xFIP CSW%
02 — THE PROVEN JUMP

Ten pitchers, before and after

Each pitcher's final two NPB seasons stacked against their current MLB line. The arrow shows direction; red means the number moved the wrong way for a pitcher, green means it improved.