Daisuke Kato

From BR Bullpen

Daisuke Kato (加藤 大輔)

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Daisuke Kato has been a productive reliever for the Orix Buffaloes. He throws a range of pitches, with his fastball peaking at 93.8 mph.

Kato pitched for Japan in the 2002 World University Championship, retiring all 12 batters he faced, 10 of them by strikeout. Despite tying for 6th on the team in innings (4), he tied Kazuhito Tadano for third on Japan's strong staff in batters whiffed. He also appeared for the country in the 2002 Intercontinental Cup, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He was a first-round pick of the Orix BlueWave in the 2002 NPB draft.

Kato debuted in Nippon Pro Baseball on April 8, 2003; his first strikeout was against Angel Echevarria. He got his first win six days later. He was 4-4 with a 5.17 ERA as a rookie but fanned 75 in 69 2/3 IP. He allowed two runs in one inning of work in 2004.

Kato made his breakthrough in 2005, going 6-3 with 2 saves and a 2.76 ERA. He fanned 83 and only walked 16 in 81 2/3 innings, while holding opponents to a .226 average. He was only 5th on a fine Orix bullpen in ERA, behind closer Masanobu Okubo and several other middle relievers.

In 2006, the right-hander had a 1-6, 4 save, 3.10 record while holding batters to a .220 average. As the Orix bullpen was much weaker, Kato had the best ERA that year; only Tom Davey had a lower ERA on the club.

Kato was promoted to closer for 2007 given Okubo's struggles in '06. He responded well, going 3-4 with 26 saves and a 2.59 ERA and 71 K in 73 IP. He was third in the Pacific League in games pitched (63) and 4th in saves. He made his first All-Star team.

Kato went 2-5 with 33 saves and a 3.29 ERA in 2008, fanning 65 in 63 innings. He tied Tomoki Hoshino for third in the PL in games (63), led the league in saves and tied Tadahiro Ogino for the most save points. He made his second All-Star squad.

Sources[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Daisuke_Kato&oldid=1290392"