The St. Louis Cardinals reportedly have shown interest in one of the most intriguing available pitchers of the offseason.

On Friday, Francys Romero of Beisbolfr.com reported that St. Louis is among the teams that will meet with 18-year-old Japanese phenom Shoki Oda after opting against entering the NPB Draft and attempting to make the move to Major League Baseball instead.

"Japanese 18-year-old pitching prospect Shoki Oda and his camp met with MLB teams yesterday, including the [Philadelphia Phillies] and [New York Mets]," Romero wrote. "He is expected to meet with the Cardinals, [Toronto Blue Jays], [Houston Astros], [New York Yankees] and others in the coming hours. Oda would be eligible to sign on Jan. 15, 2027, if the international signing period is not canceled."

Who Is Shoki Oda?

This is a very interesting report, to say the least. Oda is just 18 years old, but he has already topped out at 97.6 miles per hour, which set a tournament record at the Summer Koshien, per MLB.com's Michael Clair and Ayako Oikawa. Oda has good size at 6'1'' and, again, he's still young. As he gets older, he's going to grow into his frame and there's reason to believe that his blistering fastball is going to get even better.

Oda pitched for Yokohama High School and was projected to be a first-round pick in the NPB Draft, but he decided to pursue a professional baseball path in the United States instead.

His next steps in his baseball journey are contingent on whatever happens with the ongoing labor questions surrounding Major League Baseball. As Romero pointed out, Oda is free to sign in January, unless a potential lockout shuts down international signing.

The Cardinals have done a good job stockpiling elite pitching prospects over the last few years, including Liam Doyle, Tanner Franklin, Brandon Clarke, Jurrangelo Cijntje and Yhoiker Fajardo, among others. Oda would put his name on that list immediately as well.

Clearly, there's heavy interest in him. Romero specifically mentioned the Cardinals, Phillies, Mets, Blue Jays, Astros and the Yankees as teams expected to meet with Oda, among others. When it comes to St. Louis, it may not have been a contender in 2026, but it can boast the fact that it has one of the best farm systems in the league and a bright future. Chaim Bloom has proven throughout his career that he can build a strong farm and development system. If Oda were to enter into that, he'd position himself well to work his way up to the majors.