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For much of the last two years, the Dodgers have felt like Major League Baseball’s Team of Japan.

They signed Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. They struck advertising deal after advertising deal with some of the country’s biggest companies. All of their games are now shown on Japanese television. Team officials have stated their mission to “paint Japan blue” and become the nation’s most popular MLB team.

But this week, over their first 24 hours in Tokyo for a season-opening trip, they got to actually feel what being Japan’s team is like.

On Thursday hundreds of people decked out in Dodgers gear flocked to the arrival hall at Tokyo Haneda Airport, hoping to catch a glimpse of the team as it exited its flight from Phoenix. (Unfortunately for them, partitions had been erected that kept players and staff shielded from view.)

On Friday thousands roamed the streets around the Tokyo Dome ahead of the team’s first official workout — with Dodgers hats, jerseys and T-shirts again dominating the scene.

Read more:Hernández: Tokyo Series atmosphere shows Shohei Ohtani is more than 'a representative of Japan'

Nothing, however, compared to what the players witnessed once they got inside: 10,507 fans, in a nearly universal sea of white and blue, packed into the lower bowl of the historic ballpark.

All to watch a mundane, routine, run-of-the-mill workout.

“This is crazy, amazing,” manager Dave Roberts said, his eyes wide as he walked out of the dugout and surveyed the sprawling scene.

“It’s been overwhelming,” added shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was loudly applauded after a rudimentary round of batting of practice. “To say the least.”

The Dodgers knew their popularity in Japan had skyrocketed. It was evident last year in the increased Japanese media attention around the team. The spike of foreign fans at games. The videos splashed across social media of Japanese supporters celebrating the World Series title as their own.

“We know that every morning, in the middle of the morning, the Dodger games are broadcast here in Japan,” Roberts said. “We can tell by the Japanese enthusiasm at games, whether it be at Dodger Stadium or on the road.”

But, Roberts noted Friday, in an afternoon news conference before hundreds of reporters at the Tokyo Dome Hotel, “this is our first opportunity to come to the country of Japan, the city of Tokyo, and actually see Japanese people come support us in their home country.”

Read more:Is it smart in a fantasy baseball draft to load up on Dodgers? Buyer beware

And even for him — someone of Japanese heritage, who still has family in Japan and who spent time in the country this offseason — it didn’t take long to be unexpectedly impressed.

While out in the Tokyo neighborhood of Shibuya after the Dodgers got into town, Roberts said he instantly was struck by sight of the team’s brand on city streets.

“I saw a lot of Dodger hats,” he said.

With the Dodgers scheduled to play a Saturday exhibition against the Tokyo Dome’s normal tenant, the Yomuiri Giants of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league, Roberts wondered whether there might actually be more Dodgers gear in the crowd.

“There’s going to be a lot of representation,” he said.

Almost all such attention has been generated by the acquisitions of Sasaki, Yamamoto and, most of all, Ohtani over the last two offseasons. Ohtani didn’t spend much time on the field Friday, appearing for a little more than 10 minutes and doing no more than stretches and baserunning drills. But his mere appearance triggered a roar inside the domed stadium. And when he exited the field, photographers scrambled to capture his every step.

“When Sho came running out of the dugout,” infielder Max Muncy said, “that was a pretty cool moment for all of us to witness.”

Fans right behind the dugout called out almost every player by name — right down to minor-league reliever Jack Dreyer, who has yet to make his MLB debut. In addition to the applause that accompanied each and every round of batting practice, the crowd cheered for strong throws from outfielders, pitchers making catches in foul territory and every deep drive hit to or over the tall outfield wall.

“I don’t normally try to hit home runs in batting practice,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “But I felt like I had to today.”

Muncy described the day as a boost of energy for the team, which will play another exhibition against a Japanese opponent Sunday before beginning its season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It was good for us to have that,” Muncy said. “The long flight, everyone’s still feeling tired from that. So I think that kind of gave everyone a little bit of a boost, just to have fun with it.”

The other thing it provided the Dodgers: perspective — on their popularity in Japan, ascendant place on the world stage and ever-growing prevalence even 5,000 miles from home.

“It’s all over the world,” Rojas said. “I think the Dodgers are trying to get right there with the biggest organizations in the world. I’m talking about Real Madrid, Barcelona, all the teams that are worldwide. And I think the Dodgers are really close to that.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Poring over fantasy baseball player rankings can be jarring for diehard fans of a specific team who don't pay much attention to the other 29 clubs.

That might be especially true for the legions of devoted, deliriously satiated Dodgers followers this year.

Isn't this the most talented roster in history? Don't the Dodgers have a star at nearly every position? Isn't their pitching staff stocked with more premium stuff than the renowned Thunderbolt bar a few blocks from Dodger Stadium?

Everyone knows the Dodgers' World Series championship was followed by lavish spending for talent during the offseason. With the Dodgers opening the season Tuesday in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs, it's time for fantasy players to prepare.

Dodgers fans might be tempted to simply pick as many Boys in Blue as they can. But a team of all or even mostly Dodgers would be hard-pressed to win a fantasy league, which usually consists of 10 to 12 teams. Players from all 30 MLB teams are available in "mixed" leagues, the most common format, meaning that even a slap-dash fantasy team should have more talent than the best team of living, breathing humans.

Read more:'I haven't given my Japanese side its due': Dave Roberts reflects ahead of Dodgers' Tokyo opener

Scott Pianowski, a Yahoo fantasy analyst since 2008 and member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Hall of Fame, brought up another reason not to load up on Dodgers: Their best players might be rested frequently, the baseball equivalent of load management. Players need to be in the lineup to accumulate fantasy points.

"I've never seen a team so assured of a playoff spot than the 2025 Dodgers," he said. "They want their healthiest team ready for October. They might decide they used their regulars too much last year. They might back off on workloads, and not just with pitchers.

"My advice: Draft a Dodger, don't draft five Dodgers."

Fantasy gurus assign a number to where a player is projected to be taken, calling it his Average Draft Position. Regardless of whether league scoring uses old-fashioned rotisserie categories or head-to-head points, the ADP of the two most desirable Dodgers establish that it would be nearly impossible to draft both.

Shohei Ohtani is a near-consensus first overall fantasy pick because he's expected to add starting pitching to his prodigious offensive output as a designated hitter. However, a smattering of experts consider Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. a viable first pick as well. Pianowski points out that Ohtani likely will log far fewer than the 59 stolen bases he had last season to reduce the wear and tear on his body, especially if he is also in the starting rotation.

Read more:Analysis: Why Dodgers don't necessarily need Shohei Ohtani to pitch to start the season

Mookie Betts is a consensus top-10 pick because he qualifies as a shortstop as well as an outfielder (a player is eligible at a position he played in 20 or more games the previous season). In his fifth Dodgers season, Betts played 65 games at shortstop and 43 in the outfield. He also played 18 at second base, nearly becoming eligible at a third position.

Most drafts use a snake format in which the order of picks reverses each round. Whoever gets the top pick — say Ohtani — in a 10-team league wouldn't pick again until the Nos. 20 and 21 picks. Betts would be long gone and Dodgers first baseman and World Series hero Freddie Freeman — whose ADP is 19 with Yahoo and 22 with ESPN — also might be taken.

So let's say you had the No. 1 pick and landed Ohtani, missed out on Betts and took Freeman with the 20th pick to end the second round. Now you have the first pick of the third round and quickly realize that no other Dodger makes sense this early.

Among position players, outfielder Teoscar Hernández is projected as a sixth-round pick and catcher Will Smith a 10th-rounder by numerous fantasy prognosticators. Tommy Edman is draftable late because of his versatility. Same with Max Muncy because of his power. But that's it unless — like Pianowski — you consider new Dodgers outfielder Michael Conforto a sleeper whose home run production dipped during two years in the San Francisco Giants' cavernous AT&T Park, but last season he hit 17 homers on the road.

Want to mix in an Angel? How about Mike Trout? It wasn't so long ago that he was the no-brainer first overall selection in thousands of fantasy drafts. But after several injury-riddled seasons, the future Hall of Famer checks in as the 41st-best outfielder by ESPN. His Yahoo ADP is 93, an indication he'll be available in the ninth round.

Read more:Why Angels manager Ron Washington thinks 'things can go way better than you think'

Other Angels? In the 20th round or so, go ahead and choose between outfielders Taylor Ward and Jorge Soler or infielders Zach Neto, Luis Rengifo and Nolan Schanuel. In a 10-team league, they all might be available.

Drafting starting pitchers is just as eye-opening. The Dodgers' acquisitions of two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki combined with the renewed health of Yoshinabu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May give them undeniable depth and experience.

Yet the top Dodgers pitcher in the projections is Snell, whom ESPN ranks as only the 12th-best MLB starter with an ADP of 44. Next are Yamamoto with an ADP of 51 and Glasnow at 91. Sasaki is projected as a 10th-rounder. Kershaw, May, Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller? All are either recently recovered or still recovering from an injury. It's buyer beware.

Dodgers relievers are modestly valued as well because it's unclear who will accumulate the bulk of the saves. Newcomer Tanner Scott has an ADP of 166, despite notching 22 saves and a 1.75 earned-run average last season with two teams. Kirby Yates has an ADP of 193, despite posting 33 saves and a 1.17 ERA with the Texas Rangers.

Decorated Dodgers bullpen pieces Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia? Your choice in the final rounds. Or you could grab former Dodger and new Angels closer Kenley Jansen, whose Yahoo ADP is 236 even though his ninth-inning role is a given.

Read more:'This kid is special.' Kenley Jansen eager to help Angels' Ben Joyce reach next level

The usage of pitchers has evolved in recent years, impacting fantasy values. Starters pitcher fewer innings, no longer accumulating wins and strikeouts in abundance. More than one reliever will be trusted in save situations, depending on matchups. Catastrophic injuries to pitchers are commonplace.

"The Dodgers probably will use a six-man rotation, so the sneaky value might be their relievers," Pianowski said. "Non-closing relievers are much more valuable. More wins are distributed to the bullpen. If I'm an owner in a deep mixed league, I would draft any of those Dodgers relievers."

Crunching these numbers unearths one irrefutable truth about drafting a fantasy team: Don't be a homer. See more than Blue.

Miss out on the first pick and Ohtani? Fantasy experts say stick with hitters in the first round: Witt, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Elly De La Cruz, José Ramírez and Gunnar Henderson are solid picks.

Or, diehard Dodgers fans, go ahead and grab Betts.

Read more:MLB offseason winners and losers: Dodgers conquered. Here's how other teams fared

Angling for a starting pitcher in the second round? The ADP's of Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Zack Wheeler merit a pick that high. Otherwise, the numbers point to grabbing another hitter.

Everybody wants to identify sleepers late in the draft. Some leagues even allow drafting minor league players. If that's the case, revisit your Dodgers devotion by taking Dalton Rushing. Then smile.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.