Yamamoto sharp after rocky debut; Dodgers lose
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — Yoshinobu Yamamoto‘s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers, on the heels of attaining the largest contract ever for a starting pitcher, lasted only one inning and saw him get charged with five earned runs, nearly a quarter of his total through an entire prior season in Japan. It followed two rough outings in spring training, casting early doubt on Yamamoto’s ability to transition to the world’s most advanced baseball league in the United States.
“There’s a lot of confidence and there’s a lot of pride and fire,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Yamamoto, an athlete he is still learning. “And appreciating the contract and his part of the deal — I think he takes it personal. And took it personal. He was really intent on pitching well for his home debut.”
Yamamoto, making his second start nine days after a nightmare opener from South Korea, kept the St. Louis Cardinals scoreless through five mostly dominant innings on Saturday night and would have pitched deeper into the game if not for the 35-minute rain delay that occurred after the fourth.
Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly allowed five runs in the top of the seventh and Shohei Ohtani flied out with his team trailing by one and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, prompting a 6-5 loss — but the encouragement around Yamamoto’s start overcame all of that.
Yamamoto, speaking through an interpreter, said he felt like he “had my stuff back.” He added that he didn’t make many adjustments heading in but was simply “calm today.”
“You hate to admit it or say it, but I think it was more nerves than anything,” Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness said of the struggles around his first start. “For him to kind of be able to get through that and experience that, that inning snowballing on him, to watch him bounce back the way he did — he’s a special talent, man.”
Yamamoto struck out five hitters, including the first three he faced, and generated eight of his nine swings and misses on his splitter and curveball. The latter has often been used as a pitch to get back into counts, as opposed to a splitter that works to finish hitters off, but McGuiness was encouraged to see Yamamoto get in-zone swings and misses with a curveball that is by far his slowest pitch, thrown mostly in the upper-70s.
Yamamoto’s upper-90s four-seam fastball, another elite pitch that is hard to pick up from his low arm slot, was thrown for a strike 79% of the time on Saturday, compared with 43% of the time in Korea. The cutter, a pitch he uses mostly to dart in on opposing left-handed batters, was mostly abandoned because the other three offerings were working so well, McGuiness added.
“He did an amazing job bouncing back, not letting the first one affect him,” said Dodgers outfielder-turned-shortstop Mookie Betts, who homered for the fourth time on Saturday and is riding a 2.109 OPS through his first five games. “Even the day of that first start, you couldn’t really tell what went on. It’s really neat to see someone with a lot of pressure and whatnot on him handle everything so well.”
Yamamoto won three consecutive MVPs with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan, then signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers on Dec. 21, agreeing to terms 12 days after Ohtani landed a 10-year, $700 million deal. Yamamoto wowed teammates with his stuff and command early in camp. But he gave up nine runs in 7⅔ innings in his last two Cactus League starts, then was shelled by the San Diego Padres in his regular-season debut, allowing four hits, a walk, a hit by pitch and a wild pitch before recording the third out.
Yamamoto made a subtle adjustment heading into his second start, keeping his hands slightly higher when he gets to a set position in his windup before breaking his right hand away from his glove to fire a pitch. It helped to sync up his delivery, Roberts said. The Dodgers, though, didn’t overwhelm him with recommendations heading into his Dodger Stadium debut. In the early stages of their relationship, they’ve been letting Yamamoto and his personal trainer, Osamu Yada, set the tone.
“It’s definitely a new style for us to look at, so we’re excited to kind of learn from him,” McGuiness said. “We really are just trying to learn his verbiage and playbook and how he goes about it. Just make sure he’s comfortable out there. We’ll slowly teach him some of the things as we go along. But it was really impressive for him to bounce back the way he did, not worry about the delay, go give us the extra inning. That was massive for the bullpen. I couldn’t have been more proud of what he did today.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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