Katsuki Matayoshi
Japanese baseball player (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katsuki Matayoshi (又吉 克樹, Matayoshi Katsuki; born November 4, 1990) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chunichi Dragons and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
| Katsuki Matayoshi | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Matayoshi with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. | |||||||||||||||
| Leones de Yucatán | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: November 4, 1990 Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| NPB debut | |||||||||||||||
| March 29, 2014, for the Chunichi Dragons | |||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 47–32 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 2.84 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 504 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Professional career
Kagawa Olive Guyners
On December 13, 2012, Matayoshi signed with the Kagawa Olive Guyners of the independent league Shikoku Island League Plus.[1]
On June 22, 2013, His shutout win against the Kochi Fighting Dogs caught the attention of the Chunichi Dragons scouts.[2] In 2013 season, he finished the regular season with 24 Games pitched, a 13–4 Win–loss record, a 1.64 ERA, and a 101 strikeouts in 131.1 innings.
Chunichi Dragons
On October 24, 2013, Matayoshi was drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in the 2013 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.[3]
2014–2015 season
On March 29, 2014, Matayoshi debuted in the Central League against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp as a relief pitcher, and recorded Holds. On April 17, he pitched against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and recorded his first win.[4] In 2014 season, he finished the regular season with 67 Games pitched, a 9–1 Win–loss record, a 2.21 ERA, a 24 Holds, a 2 Saves, and a 104 strikeouts in 81.1 innings.
In 2015 season, Matayoshi finished the regular season with 63 games pitched, a 6–6 win–loss record, a 3.36 ERA, 30 Holds, and 82 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
2016–2021 season
In 2016 season, Matayoshi broke the team record of pitching in at least 60 games for three consecutive seasons as a setup man. And he recorded a 62 Games pitched, a 6–6 Win–loss record, a 2.80 ERA, a 16 Holds, and a 55 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.
On April 27, 2017, he scored his first win as a starting pitcher against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.[5] On July 4, Matayoshi was the first pitcher from an independent league to be named an My navi All-Star Game 2017.[6] In 2017 season, he finished the regular season with 50 Games pitched, an 8–3 Win–loss record, a 2.13 ERA, a 21 Holds, and a 78 strikeouts in 110 innings.
On August 9, 2018, he achieved his 100th career Holds against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.[7] In 2018 season, he finished the regular season with 40 Games pitched, a 2–5 Win–loss record, a 6.53 ERA, a 9 Holds, and a 28 strikeouts in 41.1 innings.
In 2019 season, Matayoshi finished the regular season with 26 Games pitched, a 3–3 Win–loss record, a 4.06 ERA, a 3 Holds, and a 37 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.
On June 27, 2020, Matayoshi was diagnosed with a left oblique muscle injury and recuperated.[8] He returned to the mound on September 1 after two months of rehabilitation.[9] In 2020 season, he finished the regular season with 26 Games pitched, a 4–0 Win–loss record, a 2.77 ERA, a 7 Holds, and a 18 strikeouts in 26 innings.
On July 16, 2021, Matayoshi was named an All-Star for the second time and pitched in My Navi All-Star Game 2021.[10] In 2021 season, he had a career-high 33 holds in 66 games and recorded a 1.28 ERA, 8 Saves, and 41 strikeouts in 63.1 innings.
On November 29, he announced that he would exercise his free agent rights(ja:フリーエージェント (日本プロ野球)).[11]
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
On December 14, 2021, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced that they had signed Matayoshi to a four-year contract. His annual salary, including incentives, was estimated at 650 million yen in total for four years.[12]
2022 season–2025 season
On March 26, 2022, Matayoshi made his first start as a pitcher for the Hawks.[13] On April 26, he became the ninth player in NPB history to reach 150 holds against the Saitama Seibu Lions.[14] After that, he contributed to the team as a setup man, but on August 9, he was diagnosed with a broken right leg and spent the rest of the season in rehabilitation.[15] For the 2022 season, in 31 games pitched, he logged a 3–3 record, a 2.10 ERA, 14 holds, one save, and 22 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Returning for the 2023 season, Matayoshi posted a 2–2 record with a 2.25 ERA, 10 holds, and 15 strikeouts over 28 innings.
In 2024, Matayoshi's numbers began to slightly decline, as he registered a 1–1 record with a 3.54 ERA, 6 holds, 24 strikeouts, and 10 walks across 40+2⁄3 innings.
In 2025, Matayoshi did not make the top team and spent the entire season on the second team (farm) roster. During this time, he also transitioned from a relief pitcher to a starter.[16] He posted a 3.58 ERA with just 47 strikeouts over 75+1⁄3 innings, including 12 starts. Following the season, Matayoshi's contract expired and the team informed him that they would not be re-signing him, thus becoming a free agent.[17]
Leones de Yucatán
On February 16, 2026, Matayoshi signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.[18]
International career
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On February 16, 2015, Matayoshi represented the Japan national baseball team at the GLOBAL BASEBALL MATCH 2015.[19]
On October 12, 2017, he was selected as the Japan national baseball team in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship.[20]
