Shohei Otani returned to the mound after a long absence on Thursday night.

Now the question is this: How many more times will Japanese fans see the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters sensation take the mound on home soil?

The same questions swirled around former Fighters ace Yu Darvish in 2011, and MLB scouts turned out in droves to see him pitch. Although not quite at the level as on Thursday at Sapporo Dome when scouts from 14 MLB teams (reportedly), and New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, were all in attendance to see Otani face the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.