The Kansas City Royals have agreed with 16-year-old pitcher Kaito Yuki on the terms of a minor league contract, sources said Saturday.

Yuki, who represented Japan in a youth tournament in the United States last year, had rejected offers from a number of Japanese high schools in order to pursue a baseball career in the major leagues.

Standing nearly 190 cm , the right-hander's fastball is typically around 140 kph. According to the sources, Yuki wants to emulate Yu Darvish, who grew up in the same city in Osaka Prefecture.