Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto is having a brilliant sophomore campaign.
With an ERA of 2.20 across 73.2 innings of work, the right-hander is putting the league on notice and getting closer to the level of dominance not seen since he last pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball.
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One of the biggest reasons for Yamamoto’s success — and specifically the reason for 42 of his 86 strikeouts — is his splitter.
With a whiff rate of 43.3 percent on that pitch, Michael King of the divisional rival San Diego Padres spoke on his desire to add that dominant offering to his own pitch mix.