From Japan to Merced College—to the Big Leagues?

By Luciana Chavez Special to Merced College

Merced College baseball fans could be forgiven if they struggled to imagine Jo Oyama as a potential big-league prospect.

Who could have guessed that the 5-foot-6, 140-pound teenager from Japan—a middle infielder with speed and range, but little power—would wind up torching the California Community College baseball scene?

“My journey here has been crazy,” Oyama admitted.

Oyama transformed his body and set himself on a new path during his time at Merced College. His impressive rise—from Japanese schoolboy to Merced College breakout player to NCAA Division I star to minor league prospect—was no surprise to the player or his coach.

In June, Oyama’s ascension took another leap, when his contract with the minor league Ottawa Titans was purchased by the Seattle Mariners.

“I’ve always wanted to play professional baseball,” said the 24-year-old Oyama. “I finally got to the starting line.”

Seattle assigned him to its rookie A team in Peoria, Ariz. He received his U.S. visa on July 16 and was en route to Arizona the next day to start his season.

“I have to keep grinding,” Oyama said.

That’s all the Okinawa native has done since bringing himself to the U.S. just so he could continue playing baseball after high school.

He googled words like “baseball, study abroad” and found Merced College. It seemed like a good spot, since the Blue Devils have produced their share of major leaguers, like current Pittsburgh Pirate Blake Cederlind and former pitchers Doug Fister and Brian Fuentes, as well as a host of minor leaguers.

Oyama arrived in Merced in 2019 and spent his first three months just studying to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), which is required for foreigners to attend U.S. colleges.

He passed the test, but months later, COVID hit just 10 games into his freshman baseball season. All of the Japanese friends he’d made through Merced College’s International Student Services office returned home. Oyama decided to stick it out.

He hit the weights and embraced eating protein as a lifestyle. He started gaining weight and strength. He spent hours in the batting cages.

“At 140 pounds, I wasn’t hitting the ball hard at all,” Oyama said. “But I gained 20 pounds during that COVID year. It changed my game.”

Now much stronger at 160 pounds, weak fly balls became line drives, and singles became extra-base hits and even home runs.

Oyama also became proficient in English while watching American comedy films on repeat and vigilantly asking anyone he could to explain phrases he didn’t quite understand.

“Even though I couldn’t speak English, I put myself in a place where I had to challenge myself in every way,” Oyama said. “The three years I spent in Merced were worth it just for that.”

The new-look Oyama earned an All-Central Valley Conference First-Team selection in 2021. In 2022, he was named MVP of the CVC and a Second Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings Pacific Association.

That summer, after setting league records for runs scored and stolen bases for the Wenatchee (WA) AppleSox, he was named co-MVP of the West Coast League. In 2023, Oyama put in a strong first season at UC Irvine and did the same that summer with the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League, a prestigious assignment for any U.S. college prospect.

At UCI in 2024, while completing his bachelor’s degree in International Studies, he was named to the ABCA/Rawlings West All-Region Second Team and the Corvallis All-Regional Team.

But, despite proving his baseball worth with successful gig after successful gig, Oyama went unselected last July in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft. Devastated, he went home to Japan and played for independent minor league club Kufu Hayate while he regrouped.

Oyama returned to California in March for another attempt. He tried out in Arizona for several independent teams, and Ottawa liked his resume. After a hot, 12-game start in Canada, Seattle came calling.

“I didn’t expect that,” he said. “But I was very happy.”

It is an incredible omen for a young man with the given name of “Joichiro”—yes, after Ichiro Suzuki, the Mariners legend and Baseball Hall of Famer who is a national hero in Japan.

Former Merced College baseball coach Nate Devine, now the college’s Dean of Enterprise and Academic Partnerships, also thinks Oyama’s climb through the baseball ranks is bonkers.

“But not for the reason you may think,” Devine said. “Realistically, if Jo had been 6 feet tall, he would have been a high draft pick. He’s had to prove himself because he’s 5-6.

“One thing that’s unique about Jo—that separates high-level players from average ones—is that he can put advice into action. He’s confident, but he studies the game and learns from everyone.”

Oyama loves the grind. He attracts fans because that love and his joy is palpable.

“Other dugouts just loved him, and half the time he was beating them,” Devine said. “It’s how much love and respect Jo has for the game. People want to be around him because he plays so hard and is such a good person. It’s one reason why he’s so successful.”

Has Oyama maxed out his baseball potential?

“I think his ceiling is the highest level of baseball,” Devine said. “That’s crazy to think about, but he’s done nothing to prove me wrong.

“He was devastated when he didn’t get drafted. I was, too. But now he has an opportunity with Seattle, and I know he’ll make the most of it. I won’t be shocked if he makes it to the major leagues.”