Hiroto Saiki

Hiroto Saiki (才木 浩人, Saiki Hiroto, born November 7, 1998) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Saiki Hiroto
Hanshin Tigers – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1998-11-07) November 7, 1998
Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
NPB debut
October 5, 2017, for the Hanshin Tigers
NPB statistics
(through September 24, 2023)
Win–loss20-17
Earned run average2.81
Strikeout248
Teams

Early baseball career

Hiroto started baseball early when he played catcher for his school's team in his first grade. He specialized as a pitcher in junior high, and helped his team win championships and runner ups in his hometown's local tournaments.[1][2]

He then went on to become the ace pitcher of Soma Shufu High School, where in his 2nd year, he led the team to win runner up in the prefectural tournament. Despite his team never making it to either Spring Koshien or Summer Koshien, his 140 km/h fastball caught the attention of both NPB and MLB scouts alike.[3][4]

Professional career

Hanshin Tigers selected Saiki with the third selection in the 2016 NPB draft.[5] He signed a 50 million yen contract with the Tigers, with an estimated 6 million yen annual salary. He was assigned the jersey number 35.[6]

On December 2, 2020, he become a free agent.[7] On December 8, 2020, Saiki re-signed with the Tigers.[8]

Playing Style

Standing at 189 cm, Saiki is a right-handed pitcher whose arsenal consists of fastballs clocked at a maximum of 152 km/h, sliders, curveballs and splitters.[9] In addition, he also has recently started throwing a cutter.[10] He aims to follow the footsteps of his teammate and fellow high-school draft Shintaro Fujinami who is known for his high velocity pitches.[6]

References
  1. "阪神能見のイチ押し 須磨翔風・才木「藤浪超え」だ - 野球 : 日刊スポーツ". Nikkan Sports. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  2. "阪神3位 須磨翔風・才木「藤浪さんいつか超える". Sports Nippon. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  3. "兵庫・須磨翔風の187センチ右腕・才木「私立には絶対負けない」". Sports Hochi. Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  4. "【兵庫】「藤浪２世」須磨翔風・才木、2回戦で散る…日米12球団25人のスカウトは絶賛". Sports Hochi. Archived from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  5. "阪神タイガース 選択選手一覧". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  6. "阪神ドラフト3位・才木が仮契約 「1年目の藤浪さんに近づければ」". Daily Sports. 2017-03-03.
  7. "2020年度 自由契約選手". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  8. "育成選手契約について". 阪神タイガース 公式サイト (in Japanese). December 8, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. ""雑草"阪神・才木Ｇ倒プロ１勝 "高校ビッグ４"に「プロでは負けたくない」". Sports Nippon. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  10. "阪神・才木、新球習得だ！小さく変化…香田投手Ｃ直伝「カットボール」". Sankei Sports. 2017-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-15.
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