Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto holds Toronto team lead already

Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto holds Toronto team lead already originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It took Kazuma Okamoto just a little while to figure things out.

Now that he has, the Toronto Blue Jays' Japanese import has already become one of the most crucial parts of Toronto's lineup.

He's leading the Blue Jays in RBI, which is pretty much exactly what Toronto would've hoped as a possibility when they signed him to a four-year contract for $60 million to basically take Bo Bichette's spot in the batting order.

Okamoto recently explained it to Toronto media like this: "Every time there's a runner in scoring position, whenever I'm in that box, I definitely want to drive in that runner."

MORE:MLB's 3-inning save rule is trending

Clearly, Okamoto is very capable. There was a lot of belief in his bat as he came to MLB from NPB.

Compared to slugger Munetaka Murakami, now with the , Okamoto was thought to be the more complete hitter. He showed in Spring Training right off the bat that he was capable of hitting the ball to all fields. While MLB pitching is still something to adjust to, Okamoto had the swing to manage that growth quickly.