Shoki Koda is an 18-year-old phenom from the Japanese high school ranks.
According to a report from insider Francys Romero, the Toronto Blue Jays are one of the teams scouting 18-year-old Japanese phenom Shoki Koda, who just pitched in the U18 Asian Baseball Championships.
Koda doesn't have the same fanfare yet as Japanese stars like Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto did before him, but that's simply a product of his age.
What we know so far is that Koda has a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s with a solid curveball. That's a skillset that will draw interest no matter where it comes from.
Let's break down a few things here:
About the Blue Jays and the Japanese pipeline
The Blue Jays hadn't historically had much Japanese influence on the roster outside of Munenori Kawasaki in the mid-2010s for a little while, but that all changed last offseason when they signed slugger Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year deal worth $60 million.
Okamoto will be in the running for American League Rookie of the Year, as he's hitting .232 with 33 homers and 89 RBIs this season. For a team devoid of slugging and power in 2026, he's been the one shining light in that department.
His signing, coupled with the team's success in 2025, clearly sparked a wave of Japanese interest in the Blue Jays, and that could be useful with Koda - or any other Japanese players in the future.
What are the options for Koda?
There are actually several on the table, so let's break them down 1-by-1.
1) Koda is eligible for the NPB Draft, meaning he could start his career in the Japanese professional leagues. At that point, he can stay until he's at least 25 years old and come over to MLB as an unrestricted free agent, like Munetaka Murakami did last offseason.
Or, he can come over before his age-25 season and sign under international signing bonus rules, like Roki Sasaki previously did.
2) Koda can come to the United States and enroll in a US college, like former Stanford slugger Rintaro Sasaki. At that point, he would play college baseball and be eligible for the MLB Draft in a few years. The Blue Jays would hope that he falls to them and that their early relationships with him matter.
3) Koda could simply get signed under international signing bonus rules right now, in the same way that young players do from Latin countries. Some teams still have money available from the 2026 cycle, but he could also wait for the next cycle when more teams have fuller budgets. The international signing period typically takes place in January, but the 2027 date is up in flux right now because of the pending MLB lockout.
Regardless, the Blue Jays are continuing to make advances in the Pacific as they work to build their first championship team since 1993.
