At least half the teams in baseball, the Cubs among them, were reportedly on hand to witness Japanese phenom Shohei Otani’s recent start. A scout in attendance told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that Otani threw from 94-100 mph with spotty fastball command over 3.1 innings of work.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander allowed a three-run homer on the last pitch of his outing and left the game trailing 4-1, but was healthy. That’s the real key for a guy who has battled ankle and thigh injuries and was making only his second start of the season for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.