Munetaka Murakami, Japan's youngest batting Triple Crown winner at 22, is a player in the same vein as MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani, according to Japan national baseball team manager Hideki Kuriyama.
Kuriyama, who was Ohtani's manager in Japan, also expects Roki Sasaki — the country's youngest perfect game pitcher — to dominate MLB hitters in March's World Baseball Classic, when the skipper hopes to lean on Japan's next wave of young talent.
Samurai Japan will play two exhibition games against Australia on Nov. 9-10 at Sapporo Dome after facing the Nippon Ham Fighters on Nov. 5 and the Yomiuri Giants on Nov. 6 at Tokyo Dome in the buildup to the WBC.