Scouting Report On New Mets Righthander Kodai Senga

Image credit: (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

The Mets have agreed to sign righthander Kodai Senga to a five-year, $75 million deal, as first reported by SNY’s Andy Martino.

Senga, 29, has been one of Japan’s best pitchers over the last decade and has been coveted by MLB teams for years. The 6-foot-1 righthander was the ace of Fukuoka’s four consecutive Japan Series championship teams from 2017-20 and helped lead Japan to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 with three scoreless innings over two outings against Team USA.

Senga doesn’t come without injury concern. He missed most of 2014 with a shoulder injury, was limited in 2021 by a severe ankle sprain and has periodically experienced elbow soreness throughout his career. But he has consistently performed at a high level when he’s been on the mound, including this past season when he went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA and 156 strikeouts against just 49 walks in 144 innings for the Hawks.

Below is a full scouting report on Senga and what to expect as he makes the transition to MLB.

Kodai Senga, RHP
BA Grade: 55/Medium
Born: Jan. 30, 1993. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-1. WT: 203.

Track Record: A developmental pick of Fukuoka in the 2010 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Senga blossomed into one of Japan’s top pitchers and broke out on an international stage at the 2017 World Baseball Classic when he struck out Eric Hosmer, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich in the semifinals at Dodger Stadium. He became one of Japan’s most highly-desired pitchers following that showing and burnished his reputation with continued dominance. He pitched a no-hitter in 2019, led the Pacific League in wins, ERA and strikeouts in 2020, led Japan to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and posted a 1.94 ERA in 2022. He exercised an opt out in his contract after the 2022 season to become a free agent and move to MLB.

Scouting Report: Senga is a power pitcher with a ready-made big league arsenal. His fastball sits 94-97 mph as a starter and touches 101 in short bursts with high spin rates and late explosion. He holds his velocity through his starts and has good feel for manipulating his fastball, alternately giving it ride, sink or arm-side bore. Senga’s best pitch is a plus-plus, mid-80s forkball nicknamed the “Ghost Fork” for how it disappears on hitters. It jumps out of his hand like a fastball before falling off the table with late fade and dive to get wild, off-balance swings and misses. Senga mostly dominates with his fastball and forkball, but he has a deep arsenal like many Japanese pitchers. His 86-89 mph cutter is a darting pitch he uses to jam lefthanded hitters and his vertical, 83-85 mph slider has a chance to be an average pitch if he improves its shape. He gets around his 77-80 mph curveball to make it slurvy at times, but when he stays on top of it, it flashes plus with power, downward action. Senga frequently modifies his tempo and delivery to add deception but sacrifices control when he does. He shows average control when he keeps his delivery simple and straightforward.

The Future: Senga has the stuff to be a No. 3 starter and can reach that potential if he refines his breaking balls and control. Even if he doesn’t, he should be a quality No. 4 starter who eats innings and occasionally dominates.

Scouting Grades
Fastball: 60. Curveball: 50. Slider: 45. Cutter: 50. Splitter: 70. Control: 50

Editor’s Note: Senga’s height and weight have been updated since this story was originally published.