via multimedia.heraldinteractive.com

 

He's mysterious, he's Japanese, he hits 97 on the gun. Junichi Tazawa, the 5'10" pitcher from the Japanese Industrial Leagues, is in play. He asked not to be drafted by any NPB teams so that he could come straight to America (ESPN) and so far that looks to be on track. The Braves offered him a major league deal (DOB via Talking Chop) rumored to be in the mid-to-high seven figures. The Red Sox and Mariners want him too (Herald), but will have to pony up big dollars.

Who signs him, and for how much?

I was laughing at comments I read yesterday about Gordon Beckham's hair, because he looks like every guy who ever went to my high school. Then I figured out (by reading the AJC today) that he did go to my high school (Westminster in Atlanta). Then I figured out he's the son of my first grade teacher - she was pregnant at the start of the year and didn't come back after Christmas break because she had her baby... who turned out to be Gordon Beckham.