The news that Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki was officially posted for Major League teams to negotiate with created a seismic shift on the international prospect landscape. It’s being reflected on not one, but two prospect rankings.

Now that he is eligible to sign with an MLB team, Sasaki is taking his place atop both the 2024 and 2025 international prospect Top 50 lists. Here’s why the 23-year-old right-hander is on each list:

There is a 45-day period -- from December 10 through January 23 -- during which MLB teams can negotiate with Sasaki. Because he could sign before the current 2024 international signing period ends on December 15, he is eligible for the 2024 Top 50 list. But since he could also wait until the 2025 signing period begins on January 15, he is eligible for the 2025 Top 50 list.

Sasaki can't sign between the two periods, so the windows to officially ink him are smaller: the six days before the 2024 period ends or the nine once the 2025 period begins.

Sasaki has the chance to be perhaps the greatest pitcher ever to come from Nippon Professional Baseball (the highest level of baseball in Japan) and pitch for a Major League Baseball team. In four seasons with Chiba Lotte, Sasaki has compiled a 2.02 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 rate while allowing just 6.0 hits per nine. He made a big splash on the international stage by striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings in the 2023 World Baseball Classic on a Japan staff that included Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Here’s everything about the Sasaki situation you need to know:

What's his scouting report?

The 6-foot-2 Sasaki is a future frontline starter with the potential to have three plus power pitches. He can run his fastball up to 102 mph, a four-seamer that averaged almost 99 mph in 2023, an average that did dip to 96.8 mph in 2024. He complements the heater with an absolutely filthy splitter (88.2 mph avg in 2024) that generated a whiff rate north of 57 percent this past season. He kills spin with it, and it falls off the table. His slider (83.6 mph avg in ‘24) also misses a lot of bats, with a 40.7 percent whiff rate last year. He has an ideal projectable lean and athletic frame and throws a ton of strikes, though he’s control over command right now. He has No. 1 starter potential, though there are some questions about his velocity dipping on all three of his pitches from 2023 to 2024.

Here's an in-depth scouting report on Sasaki:

How does the posting system work?

Details of the posting system can be found here. In a nutshell, any player in NPB who wants to become an international free agent before accumulating nine years of experience can ask to be posted for MLB clubs by his Japanese team. Under the current rules, the release fee Chiba Lotte can get would be 20 percent of the total guaranteed value of the contract Sasaki signs. For contracts with a total guaranteed value of $25 million or less, the release fee will be 20 percent of the total guaranteed value of the contract. We know that Sasaki's contract will fall under that $25 million threshold because …

How much can he sign for?

At age 23, Sasaki is subject to international bonus pool money restrictions, as he’s under 25 and has less than six seasons of service time in a foreign league recognized by MLB. So we won’t be seeing a Yamamoto type of deal here (12 years, $325 million). This is similar to when Ohtani came here in 2017, when he received a bonus of $2.3 million from the Angels.

For those reasons, where Sasaki decides to sign won't be based on who can give him the biggest bonus now. While teams are not permitted to talk about long-term extensions when negotiating with a posted player, there will no doubt be some calculus about future earning potential and opportunities to compete for World Series titles.

Here are the remaining international bonus pools for the 2024 signing period, as of a November 9 Associated Press report:

Dodgers: $2,502,500
Orioles: $2,147,300
Yankees: $1,487,200
Giants: $1,247,500
Red Sox: $990,000
Rockies: $857,800
White Sox: $740,000
Cardinals: $672,200
Tigers: $620,000
D-backs: $559,300
Royals: $462,300
Marlins: $337,500
Mets: $314,000
Astros: $287,500
Cubs: $237,200
Angels: $212,200
Guardians: $114,300
Nationals: $112,500
Brewers: $110,500
Pirates: $89,800
Phillies: $42,200
Reds: $35,000
Athletics: $33,000
Mariners: $19,500
Twins: $17,500
Blue Jays: $12,200
Padres: $2,200
Rays: $0
Braves: $0
Rangers: $0

If Sasaki waits until the 2025 signing period to come to terms, all 30 teams’ bonus pools reset. Clubs do have the ability to trade for additional bonus pool funds that could help augment any bonus offer, though they can only acquire up to 60 percent of their assigned pool.

Here’s the complete list of initial international bonus pools for the 2025 signing period:

$7,555,500
CIN, DET, MIA, MIL, MIN, OAK, SEA, TB

$6,908,600
ARI, BAL, CLE, COL, KC, PIT

$6,261,600
ATL, BOS, CHC, CWS, LAA, NYM, NYY, PHI, SD, TEX, TOR, WSH

$5,646,200
HOU, STL

$5,146,200
LAD, SF