There are some concerns about Masahiro Tanaka's pitch counts as he nears Major League Baseball.

Tanaka is expected to land a $100 million contract, in addition to the $20 million posting fee due to his Japanese club, the Rakuten Golden Eagles.

Over the last five years, Tanaka has averaged more pitches per start, 113.3, than any pitcher in the Majors. The high pitch totals don't stop there.

"There were the 742 pitches Tanaka threw over six starts in a two-week span as a 17-year-old at the national high school baseball tournament. And the back-to-back 137- and 142-pitch starts at 20 years old. The coup de grace came during the Japan Series this season, in which Tanaka went 160 pitches during a Game 6 loss, then came back the next day and threw another 15 in relief to close out Rakuten's championship victory," writes Jeff Passan.

"It worries me a lot," one National League executive said.

"Not ideal," one general manager said.