International Player Rates & Ranks Report #2

Initially published to Substack on Jul 06, 2026

Document : International R&R Report #2

Level : Professional — International

Source : Fangraphs/Baseball Ref

Data Pulled on : 7/4/26

Overview : This is a bi-weekly report outlining Top Offensive and Pitching International Producers. International Leagues included: Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), and Deutsche Baseball Liga (DBL). The report is split into two sections the Offense & Pitching. Each player is given a Rate and a Grade (Elite/Great/Above Avg/Average/Below Average/Not Great). This information can all be located in the ‘**International R&R Report #2**’ excel spreadsheet. I use the spreadsheet to make Scouting Reports for games I am attending.

Housekeeping Notes: The biggest change this week is adding the Deutsche Baseball Liga (DBL). For better or worse, my formula does not place a weights based on level of competition, so we run into some of the same types of competition concerns when rating & ranking D1 baseball (i.e. top performers in the SWAC/MAAC vs. the SEC/B10). It’s important to keep in mind the level of competition, but also acknowledge top performers. Talent can be found anywhere, and this report is about finding it.

I understand there are a lot of DBL at the top of the Offensive List, that is not lost on me. For this reason, I have lifted the restrictions on the google doc spreadsheet, no longer requiring readers request access to the spreadsheet. This way you can adjust the spreadsheet as you see fit. If you do not want to see DBL players you can filter the spreadsheet accordingly.

1) Offense

Each player is ranked in these three categories — Elite (Dark Green), Great (Green), Above Average (Light Green), Average (Yellow), Below Average (Light Red), Not Great (Red)

The first tab is ‘Offensive ’. I rated and ranked all International players from Start of Season — July 3rd, 2026, 35 PA minimum. Players were assessed using a neutralized Run Value system to measure their overall offensive production, broken down into two core components:

• “The Hit Tool” — Measures a player’s offensive impact via hitting
• “The Run Tool” — Captures the value generated from non-hit plate appearances
• “Overall” — A sum of The Hit Tool and The Run Tool, representing overall offensive contribution

Top 10 Offensive Producers with > 50 PA

1. Wi. Germaine HDH (DBL)
2. Sh. Larry HDH (DBL)
3. Ko. Sasagawa REG (DBL)
4. Mc. Pearce BON (DBL)
5. Da. Lamb-Hunt BON (DBL)
6. Domenic Rauwolf REG (DBL)
7. Ch. Beyers UNT (DBL)
8. Si. Bäumer BON (DBL)
9. Hyun Min Ahn 안현민 Wiz (KBO)
10. Austin Dean 오스틴 Twins (KBO)

2) Pitching

Each player is ranked in these three categories — Elite (Dark Green), Great (Green), Above Average (Light Green), Average (Yellow), Below Average (Light Red), Not Great (Red).

The second tab is ‘Pitching’. I rated and ranked all International pitchers from Start of Season — July 3rd, 2026, with 30 TBF requirement. Players were assessed using a neutralized Run Value system to measure their overall offensive production, broken down into two core components:

• “The Run Tool Against” — Captures the value generated from non-hit plate appearances against
• “The Hit Tool Against” — Measures a player’s offensive impact via hitting against
• “Overall Against” — A sum of The Hit Tool and The Run Tool, representing overall offensive contribution against.

Top 10 Pitching Producers with > 45 TBF

1. Ryoji Kuribayashi Carp (NPB)
2. Roberto Osuna Hawks (NPB)
3. Noboru Shimizu Swallows (NPB)
4. Young Chan You 유영찬 Twins (KBO)
5. Shunsuke Nakamori Marines (NPB)
6. Jesús Liranzo Swallows (NPB)
7. Haruto Takahashi Tigers (NPB)
8. Hiroshi Suzuki Buffaloes (NPB)
9. Jordan Balazovic UPR (CPBL)
10. Tae-yang Lee 이태양 Tigers (KBO)

Top Strikeout % Leaders

That’s all I got for this week, come back in two weeks for International R&R Report #3!

Bozzy Baseball Book Review

The next Bozball Book Review we are going to review is Bill Walsh’s The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh (Author), Steve Jamison.

Bozzy Baseball Touching Grass Segment

While scouting a Lakewood BlueClaws game, I struck up a conversation with a woman sitting a few rows away. As it turned out, she was related to the pitcher I was there to watch. We talked about baseball, her relationship with the player, why I scout games, my blog, and my hopes of working in baseball full-time.

Toward the end of the conversation, almost out of nowhere, she smiled and said, “You seem to be doing all the right things, writing, coming out to games. God will take care of you, and it will happen when you least expect it.”

I thanked her, handed her one of my Bozzy Baseball business cards, and we went our separate ways.

I’ve never quite known how to respond when someone says, “God will take care of it when you least expect it.” It’s one of those statements where my mind immediately starts asking questions. Cool… but what exactly am I supposed to do with that? Does that mean I stop pushing? Should I expect less of myself? Do I simply wait?

The very next morning, my weekly discipleship reading answered the question I had wrestled with the night before. The lesson centered on this topic:

“What rewards can a follower of Christ realistically expect in this life on earth?”

The reading pointed first to 1 Peter 5:7:

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Then it connected that passage with Romans 15:13:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Neither passage promises the specific outcome we often want. They don’t promise the dream job, the promotion, or the breakthrough opportunity. Instead, they promise something deeper: God’s presence, His peace, and hope while we wait.

That conversation at the ballpark wasn’t telling me to lower my expectations or stop working. If anything, it reminded me to keep doing exactly what I’m doing, writing, scouting, learning, networking, and trusting God with the results.

As someone trying to break into baseball operations, it’s easy to become consumed with timelines. I catch myself asking, “When is it going to happen?” But Scripture consistently points me away from my timetable and back toward God’s.

There is a difference between waiting and being idle. Waiting on God is active. It means continuing to prepare, continuing to improve, and continuing to be faithful with today’s opportunities while trusting Him with tomorrow’s.

It’s funny how a conversation at a minor league baseball game can become the setup for a lesson God reinforces the very next morning.

Maybe that’s how His timing often works, not by giving us all the answers immediately, but by gently reminding us that while we can’t control when doors open, we can control how faithfully we prepare for them.

God’s time isn’t our time. And maybe that’s exactly the point.

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Dream big, work hard, and pray. You aren’t dreaming big enough or working hard enough if you don’t fall to your knees at night to pray. Be urgent, be patient, and kind to yourself in the pursuit of excellence.

**1 Peter 5:7**

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International Scouting Reports/Evaluations :

• Cody Ponce — Depending on what your team relays to you in terms of their expectations on timelines to improve these mechanical/stamina issues, a 2–3 year investment could makes sense, provided there’s a commitment from both player and organization to mechanical adjustments, conditioning, and development support. Two potential approaches emerge…’ Published Aug 25, 2025. Toronto Blue Jays signed Ponce on a 3 year/ $30 mil contract on 12/11/25
• Kazuma Okamoto — “Obviously do your due diligence, but if you have a positional need at 3B/1B/LF with a home field that benefits RHH pull side power I would be comfortable at 3 years/$60,842,636.31’ Published December 26th 2025. Signed with Toronto for 4/$60M
• Munetaka Murakami — ‘**I am comfortable with 5 years/$60M with a club option of $15Mil. I see this as a contract similar to Brent Rooker. I am not going above the Rooker deal. If I can develop a position player out of him great, but that’s going to come as a result of my organization’s work with him.’ Published on Dec 16, 2025 … Murakami signed with CWS for 2 years/$34M on 12/21/25.**
• Sung-Mun Song was identified in Bozzy Baseball Blog’s bi-weekly KBO Rates & Ranks Report as a great producer (5th best in KBO). He was featured in nearly every bi-weekly KBO R&R Report. He even reached elite production in R&R Report #9… On 12/19/25 signed with the San Diego Padres

MLB Analysis:

• Are The Phillies’ Nerfing their Best Slugger? Published Jun 15, 2026
• Should the Phillies bring the Millville Meteor home? Published Jun 04, 2026
• The Phillies Are Out of Daycare — My Tin Foil Hat Thoughts on the Phillies Letting Rob Thomson Go Published May 02, 2026
• Asked at Work: How Do You Fix the Phillies? Published Apr 24, 2026
• Phillies — April Math: The Phillies Are Running Out of Margin Published Apr 21, 2026

Free Agent Evaluations:

• Luis Arráez — ‘…If we have a need at 1B or 2B or a platoon need, I would offer 1 year between $10,849,690.01 to $13,032,355.78…’ Published on Dec 18th 2025. On 2/10/26 signs with San Francisco Giants for one-year, $12M.
• Kyle Schwarber — ‘Ultimately when it’s all said and done, I think you could see a +10%-15% bidding debit + State & Local Income taxes debit applied to a market price. Max market + max debit could put this around $29.2M AAV / 4 years…when teams like the Phillies and Mets are tied to a couple aging contracts, you start to see a window where teams extend on the years to put this one over the top’ Published Nov 3, 2025 … Philadelphia Phillies signed for 5 years, 30 Mil AAV on 12/9/25
• Max Kepler — ‘From the looks of it, Kepler made a large approach changes in 2025. He was a B-Grade offensive LF producer in the 2nd Half, and not all that rate was entirely tied to his Run Tool…do you due diligence, and if reports are good on character/makeup I would be comfortable at 1yr/$1.4–1.68mil.’ Published on Jan 3 2026… On January 9th 2026 Kepler was suspended for 80 games for PEDs
• Jurickson Profar: “Based on his 1st & 2nd Half BAbip I think you get closer to the .243/.360/.434…*I’d recommend a 1-year, $6.75 million deal, with the possibility of a 2-year, $14 million deal…I’m not buying into the slugging breakout, especially given the stark home/away splits. I understand he’ll probably get a bigger deal, which I’m fine with.’ Published 11/23/24…*On 1/23/25 Profar signed with the Braves for three-years, $42 million. On 3/31/25 Profar received an 80-game suspension
• Gary Sánchez — ‘*I would be comfortable at 1-year/$2,451,813.70.’ *Published on 1/1/26. On 2/11/26 Sánchez signs Brewers for $1.75M