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Blue Jays’ Kazuma Okamoto named to Baseball America’s 2026 MLB All-Rookie Team
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
Oct 7, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 6, 2026, 23:31 EDT
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Kazuma Okamoto’s strong rookie campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays is being rewarded. 
On Tuesday, it was announced that Okamoto was named to Baseball America’s 2026 All-Rookie Team as the third baseman after putting together an impressive year after coming over from the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. 
After being signed to a four-year, $60-million contract in January, Okamoto appeared in 156 games with the Blue Jays and batted .232 with 33 home runs and 92 RBIs. The 33 home runs and 92 RBIs were good for the team lead by wide margins as the 30-year-old was often the lone threat to do damage against opposing pitchers. 
Okamoto’s .452 slugging percentage and .762 on-base plus slugging marks were also good for the highest among all Blue Jays players, and it’s hard to imagine how much worse this offence would have been if they didn’t add Okamoto to a team that finished with the fewest home runs and runs scored in the major leagues. 
Among all rookies in Major League Baseball, Okamoto finished second in home runs, trailing only Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox who hit 35 in his first season in North America. 
On August 18, Okamoto etched his name in the Blue Jays’ record books when he hit his 25th home run of the season off Tampa Bay Rays left-hander and former Blue Jay Steven Matz. The blast, which travelled 442 feet over the left field wall, surpassed Eric Hinske’s rookie home run record of 24 that was set during the 2002 campaign. 
Okamoto didn’t only create waves in the Blue Jays organization, as he became the fifth Japanese-born player to hit 30 home runs in a season, when he slugged a solo home run off Athletics right-hander Jack Perkins on September 8. Okamoto joined Hideki Matsui, Shohei Ohtani, Seiya Suzuki, and Murakami to achieve the feat. 
While coming over to North America not only brings challenges on the baseball field, the adjustment of living in a new country and communicating with teammates can often create barriers. Recently, Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw spoke on how much he enjoyed his first season with Okamoto. 
“You try to put yourself in his shoes and he’s coming from a country that’s far away and completely different,” Straw said. “I just tried to make him feel comfortable and he turned out to be a hilarious guy and great teammate. He’s just a fun guy to be around and I’m glad he’s with the Blue Jays.”
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