Pitcher/DH Shohei Otani wins Japanese HR Derby

Move over, Madison Bumgarner.

While Major League Baseball mulls over including their pitchers in the annual Home Run Derby, Japanese dual threat Shohei Otani is already taking part in his country's event - and he's raising the bar for Bumgarner and Co.

Otani, an ace pitcher for the Nippon-Ham Fighters who moonlights as the team's designated hitter between starts, defeated a field of Japanese position players to win Nippon Professional Baseball's Home Run Derby. He eliminated Yakult Swallows infielder Tetsuto Yamada - NPB's current home-run leader - in the semifinals, then took the final by a 3-2 score.

If that wasn't enough, he also reached the final of the second Home Run Derby - Japan's All-Star series consists of two separate games and two derbies - but lost that contest. Otani didn't pitch in either of the All-Star Games due to a blister, but starred as a hitter by recording three hits and a homer for the Pacific League in Game 2 of the series.

"I was chosen (to the All-Star Series) as a pitcher and wanted to show my performance on the mound," Otani told Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times. "But I ended up being used like this, and wanted to just do my job."

Otani, who threw the fastest pitch in Japanese baseball history last month, owns a 2.03 ERA, 1.009 WHIP, and 140 strikeouts over 115 innings as a pitcher, while hitting .331/.444/.631 with 10 home runs, 27 RBIs, nine doubles, and 27 walks in 160 plate appearances as a DH and occasional outfielder.

A report from Jim Allen of the Kyodo News in May suggested the 22-year-old would only consider a move to MLB if he could continue as a two-way player.