When it comes to Shohei Otani, the idea of him one day playing in the major leagues is often discussed with an assuredness that implies most believe a move to the majors is a matter of when, not if. Otani got that ball rolling himself by boldly declaring he was going to MLB straight out of high school, before being persuaded to remain in Japan and hone his skills with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

The young pitcher's ability and skill suggest he's MLB-caliber, the numbers he's put up in his first two NPB seasons tell the same story, and he's only getting better.

So of course there was palpable excitement among Japanese baseball fans when Otani was announced as a member of the Samurai Japan team scheduled to face a squad of major leaguers in the MLB-Japan All-Star Series, because it'd be a chance to see the 20-year old face MLB competition, even in a somewhat abnormal setting.

Otani got his feet wet with an inning of work against the MLB All-Stars in Game 1, but the game everyone has been waiting for comes Tuesday, when he's scheduled to start against the MLB team.

"The guy who's young and threw hard," Justin Morneau, this year's NL batting champion, said jokingly when asked for his opinion of Otani's brief appearance in Game 1. "He didn't look scared. He was attacking. I think at his age, to be able to throw that hard and be able to throw the ball over the plate is the most important thing. If you can locate and can throw that hard, you can be as dominant a pitcher as anybody.

"He's young, so he'll be here for a long time, but he's that challenge you like to face. The guy that throws about as hard as you can throw a baseball. You like to face the best and see how you match up against that. That's kind of what this series is all about."

Otani has drawn numerous comparisons to former Fighters pitcher and current Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish throughout his young career and it's not hard to see why.

He resembles Darvish on the mound, pitches out of the stretch like Darvish, wears Darvish's old number, 11, and throws hard like Darvish did.

He's turning into a strikeout machine like Darvish as well, finishing third in the Pacific League with 179 in 155⅓ innings for an NPB-best 10.37 strikeout rate. Overall, Otani was 11-4 with a 2.61 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 24 starts this season, with opponents hitting .223 against him.

Darvish's current pitching coach, Mike Maddux, made the trip to Japan with the MLB team, and after watching Otani in Game 1 said it was too early to compare the two pitchers.

"He had velocity, and that might be where you would want to compare him (to Darvish)," Maddux said. "We didn't see him long enough to see his total package. But he's young, he'll get better."

The total package figures to be on full display in Game 5.

"I'll just try to pitch the way I did during the regular season," Otani said before Game 3.

In his cameo in the eighth inning of Game 1, Otani threw almost all fastballs to the three batters he faced. That won’t work over the long haul, as hard-throwing Shintaro Fujinami found out in Game 4.

"The last time he pitched it was only for one inning," Samurai Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo said. "I just wanted him to experience a middle reliever's role. This time he will start as he did during the regular season. So I think he's going to mix his pitches more instead of just throwing fastballs like he did last time."

The hype surrounding Otani hasn't escaped the notice of the MLB players, who seemed to be very impressed by the young star.

"He's good," said Houston Astros outfielder Dexter Fowler. "Great arm. He's aggressive, which is awesome. You don't see that very often from a young kid but I think as he matures and learns how to pitch, he'll probably be able to play with us (in MLB)."