Franmil Reyes: NPB's Import Superstar

Franmil Reyes has become one of the elite hitters in Nippon Professional Baseball. The former MLB slugger has made a near-seamless transition into the NPB and looks on pace to have one of the best offensive seasons in the league’s history. Now amid his latest campaign we look at what has gone into his success in Japan overall and theorize if it could lead to a stateside return.

Since arriving in Japan in 2024, Reyes has steadily answered the biggest question that followed him from MLB: whether his immense raw power could translate consistently against pitchers who attack differently, rely heavily on command, timing disruption, and secondary stuff. Through three seasons with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham, Reyes has not only kept the power intact but become a more complete middle-of-the-order presence.

His 2024 season served as the introduction. Reyes hit .290 with 25 home runs and 65 RBI, giving the Fighters a legitimate run producer right away. In 2025, he backed it up over a larger sample, playing 132 games and producing 32 home runs with 90 RBI. That second season mattered because pitchers had a full year of information, adjustment time, and Reyes remained one of the most dangerous bats in the Pacific League.

Now, in year three, the story has shifted from whether Reyes can succeed in Japan to him becoming one of the league’s premier offensive players. His current .328 average, .571 slugging percentage, and .384 on-base percentage show a hitter doing more than simply selling out for home runs. This while still hitting 21 home runs with 54 RBI – both which rank 3rd in the league. Reyes is making more consistent contact, controlling enough of the strike zone, and forcing pitchers to treat him as a complete hitter. In that sense, his NPB tenure has become a reinvention as much as a revival.

This reinvention has also helped Reyes become one of the most recognizable and well-liked imports in Japanese baseball. There is always an adjustment period for foreign players in NPB, including adapting to a different schedule, travel rhythm, clubhouse culture, media structure, and fan environment. Reyes has handled that transition exceptionally well. With his energy, visible joy, and ability to deliver memorable home runs have made him an easy player for Fighters fans to embrace.

Around the league, Reyes has become the kind of attraction who can change the feel of a game before he even steps into the batter’s box. That popularity has started to show up beyond the box score, too. Pacific League TV has leaned into his appeal with a feature titled “The Dominican Smile,” a nod to the nickname Japanese fans have attached to Reyes because of the joy and charisma he brings to the field. His growing marketability has also crossed into local advertising, including a Nipponham Schauessen commercial in Japan—an uncommon endorsement lane for an active non-Japanese player in NPB and another sign that Reyes he has become part of the league’s entertainment fabric.

The natural question is whether this version of Reyes could eventually tempt MLB clubs again. The selling point would be clear: Reyes has spent three years proving that his power still plays against high-level pitching, while also showing signs of a more mature offensive approach. He would not return as the same player who departed MLB after the 2023 season. He would return as a hitter who has rebuilt his value in one of the world’s most competitive professional leagues.

Still, Reyes’ future does not have to be measured only by whether he comes back to MLB. He has already carved out something meaningful in Japan. He is a player whose production matches his personality, whose presence has helped elevate the club’s offense, and whose continued success has made him one of the defining foreign stars of this NPB era.

Whether the next chapter leads back across the Pacific or deeper into a celebrated run in Japan, Reyes is no longer simply a former MLB slugger trying to extend his career overseas. He is one of Japan’s most feared hitters, one of its most entertaining personalities, and perhaps one strong finish away from forcing big-league teams to take another look.