Aren Kuri

Aren Kuri (九里 亜蓮)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 202 lbs.

• High School Okayama University of Science High School

• Born September 1, 1991 in Yonago, Tottori, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Aren Kuri pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and once led the league in wins.

His father is American and Kuri is sometimes listed as Allen Kuri, Aren being the Japanese equivalent. This source says his father played in the US minors, but if so it was under a name other than Kuri. He spent part of his youth in the US and par tin Japan. Kuri was drafted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the second round of the 2013 NPB draft, and he soon joined the rotation. He was 2-5 with a 4.00 ERA in 20 appearances in his rookie year. However, when Hiroki Kuroda joined the team, Kuri's starting spot was taken and he only had 7 appearances in 2015. He was named the team's main long-inning reliever in 2016, and he 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 27 games (10 starts).

When Kuroda retired in 2017, Kuri got some starting chances and he went 9-5 with a 3.64 ERA. He was 8-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 2018, and the Carp won the Central League pennant this year. In the 2018 Nippon Series, Kuri started in Game 3 but he allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings and Ariel Miranda of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks beat him. Kuri sputtered in 2019 as he went 8-8 with a 6.51 ERA.

The Tottori native improved to 8-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 2020, and he ranked 4th in ERA (1.14 behind Yudai Ono). He led the Central League with 13 wins (tied with Koyo Aoyagi) in 2021, but his ERA rose to 3.81. Kuri improved to 6-9 with a 3.33 ERA in 2022. The talented righty was selected into the All-Star Game for the first time in his career in the next summer. He started in Game 2, pitched two innings with only a run allowed from Kenya Wakatsuki's sacrifice fly.

Related Sites

• Wiki Japan
• NPB.com Bio
• 2023 NPB All-Star Game 2
• 2018 Nippon Series Game 3 Box