Japanese high school baseball prospect Shotaro Morii just may be on his way to becoming the country's next top two-way star.

The class of 2025 shortstop/right-handed pitcher out of Tokyo, Japan is from TOHO Junior and Senior High School tucked away in Kunitachi a few blocks down from the station. And on the first Saturday of January, Morii put on quite the impressive display of tools during an on-campus private workout. This included a plethora of ground balls, followed by a 15-pitch bullpen, and ended with three rounds of batting practice.

Along with myself helping capture the workout, a NPB scout dressed in a suit and tie looked on. Morii is being evaluated already as a potential Japanese baseball draft candidate once he graduates his third year of high school in Japan. But, potentially following in the footsteps of Rintaro Sasaki, dubbed the “No. 1 Japanese prospect” in the class of 2024, Morii is looking at what it takes to make the move to America for college.

And from what I saw, he’s a no-brainer Division 1 caliber-type player.

At shortstop, Morii took roughly 30 ground balls during the workout. Led by his head coach Tanaka Sensei and with help from teammates at first and second base, the 6-1, 181-pound prospect displayed true range. While we did not run a 60-yard dash, I could tell the speed tool was easily there based upon his lateral movement and quickness. And of course, his defensive ability was on display which can be seen in full on video.

 Morii’s arm strength was on display without looking like he was attempting to throw his hardest. In other words, he didn’t know that I had my Pocket Radar behind him, and several throws were clocked at an easy 88-89 MPH without breaking a sweat. With a smile on his face, he joyously zipped the ball across the infield and exuded a love for the game while doing the most basic things.

With not much rest, Morii moved into his bullpen session. Not very deep into getting warmed up off the bump and with the catcher still standing, Morii was 90 MPH consistently. His arm continued to work well and it was clean on release. Morii seemed effortless (not max effort) without grunting or trying to rev it up until one of the last few at the end.

As he began his 15-pitch pen, the very first pitch was a fastball clocked at 91 MPH on the Pocket Radar. Then, 90 MPH. Then, 91 MPH three more times in a row — no, the radar was not broken. The RHP worked his curveball next at 73-74 MPH with true 12-6 shape. Then came the slider with some depth at 76-78 MPH. A pitch he seemingly could sharpen, but I also had just learned this was his first pen of the year. He then threw one forkball — it was his best pitch coming in at 78 MPH and had so much late life that his catcher couldn't handle it. It was an easy pitch to project as a major swing-and-miss offering.

I moved behind the plate for the rest of the bullpen where after a brief break for me to get back there, Morii then hit 92 MPH on that very next pitch. He then tossed a few breaking balls and one last fastball to end it at 91 MPH. The 17-year old certainly impressed, especially for it being January 6th.

VIEW: Shotaro Morii's Five Tool Profile

With his team lined up in the dugout and the NPB scout behind me, the left-handed hitter — which is the same right throw/left bat like the world’s best player, Shohei Ohtani, put on a show. From this “Sho," it was a display of power to center and right on well-struck balls during his BP session.

The swing is one scouts can dream on: Body separates from hands on stride; back foot with some kick up on contact; and hard barrels on his best of swings. Morii’s squad was cheering him on and seemingly in awe as the session went on. He used a wood bat, consistently putting balls up against and over the tall RF wall with some easy juice. Only once did he break out the metal bat which was later towards the end of the last round as he started running out of steam after constantly still drilling the netting in right. Morii launched one over the fence with one swing of the metal bat and a teammate proclaimed in second-language English, “he got it!”

Some more chatter, a taken ball, and many laughs, Morii switched back to wood to end the session. He hit one ball to deep straightaway center (the deepest part of the park) that his squad seemed to admire. And then Morii ended things with another shot to right over the wall as he then respectfully left the batter’s box.

What we do at Five Tool in situations like this is help connect the college coaches and scouts to players such as Shotaro Morii. The video aspect helps bring to life the player showcasing his tools. And of course, the words may help paint a better picture to who the player is.

To me, Morii did everything that day that would have garnered him a scholarship to many Division 1 Power 5 schools. Japanese baseball practice is no joke. You cannot question any competitive spirit nor his work ethic. However, I cannot speak on his in-game play, but I’ve provided a few clips below showing his ability to hit the ball to both sides of the field on screaming line drives along with a few warm-up pitches in between innings. Of course, the bullpen that I saw backed that up and the hit tool is backed up as well.

Morii’s next objective is to master the English language and score well on the TOEFL test to potentially pursue playing college baseball in America. TOHO, I was told, is known as the “academic” school in the Tokyo area, so Morii is challenged in class on a daily basis. I would imagine his academics are high and scoring properly on the TOEFL should be likely attainable.

However, the NPB could come calling with two more years left of high school ball.

One last thing to note: I was told Morii hasn't lifted weights yet. While he has indeed found himself in the weight room (or what Japan calls their indoor workout-type facility), it’s been for yoga. His mother, a yoga instructor, has helped him take up the art.

**************************

More on Japan: My favorite part from the workout was arrival and departure from the field. When I was in sight of the players on the field, each individual stopped what they were doing to greet me as soon as they looked my way, which was a uniquely awesome thing for this tourist and baseball junkie, and took their hat off before bowing to me — a sign of respect. Sensei Tanaka was a genuine coach who seemed to run a tight ship. I could tell his guidance for Morii on the field during the defensive session was impactful. And when leaving, players took the chance to thank me for coming with another bow.

After this workout, I went to a magnificent turf field at Komazawa Olympic Park where the top Japanese junior school was practicing. I got to see Hiroto Takahashi take BP, who is a third base prospect on the national team and attending Waseda University, known as the most prestigious college baseball program in Japan. I then got to see three Japanese pitchers currently at junior colleges in America — Keigo Wajima, a sophomore LHP at Taft College, Kai Hanasaki, a sophomore RHP at College of Desert, and Tsubasa Tomii, a freshman RHP at Herkimer College who also was the 2017 Little League World Series Championship Game winning pitcher.

I’d like to thank one of our interns, Ric O’Hara, currently at Arizona State who is from Japan and helped set all of this up. And Hibiki Ouchi of Athlete Brand, a liaison and my chauffeur for baseball on this trip.

Jeffrey Kahn

Five Tool Baseball