High expectations for new Blue Jays acquisition Kazuma Okamoto among his rookie peers

When the Toronto Blue Jays made one of their major offseason free agent signings in getting Kazuma Okamoto, they truly expected big things from the Japanese star. After all, Okamoto had been an offensive force for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan for the past eight seasons, averaging more than 30 home runs and 90 RBIs each year during that time frame.

It isn’t just the Blue Jays that believe in his abilities as ATC rookie projections for the 2026 MLB season also recently revealed that they have high expectations of Okamoto among his rookie peers. They predict that the 29-year-old star will have a 110 wRC+ in his upcoming first season with Toronto, putting him in a tie for first place along with another Japanese free agent signee in Munetaka Murakami and Cincinnati Reds young infielder Sal Stewart. 

High expectations for new Blue Jays acquisition Kazuma Okamoto among his rookie peers 

More notably, Okamoto was ranked ahead of the No. 2 prospect in all of MLB in Kevin McGonigle (106 wRC+) of the Detroit Tigers, the No. 8 prospect in Samuel Basallo (97 wRC+) of the Baltimore Orioles and the renowned top Kansas City Royals catching prospect Carter Jensen (101 wRC+), according to MLB Pipeline.

That in itself speaks volumes of Okamoto’s potential whicht the Blue Jays will hope end up translating well from Japan over to North America. The Japanese star may seem quite mature compared to his counterparts, after all, being already 29-years-old. However, to play in a new environment that is unfamiliar to him by coming overseas will make it feel equivalent to that of a promising young rookie trying to get his feet wet in the majors as a result.

With Okamoto being the only relevant big bat added by Toronto this winter, the Blue Jays will be counting heavily on this bold offseason move to come through. This is particularly important from the Blue Jays’ offensive standpoint after falling short in the Kyle Tucker free agency sweepstakes, along with missing out on Bo Bichette and Cody Bellinger.

So in effect, the Blue Jays will be looking to Okamoto to help replace some of the lost elite production that was provided by the departed Bichette on a yearly basis. More importantly, Toronto will hope that the Japanese star will do enough to make the Blue Jays fans totally forget about their former shortstop in due time.

As a result, a significant part of the Blue Jays’ potential success in 2026 will depend on how Okamoto will pan out. But based on the early predictions above for the 29-year-old Japanese star, it appears that Toronto fans won’t have to worry about it too much.