Junya Nishi

Junya Nishi (西 純矢)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 194 lbs.

• High School Soshi Gakuen High School

• Born September 13, 2001 in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Junya Nishi has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Nishi represented Japan in the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup. As their DH, he homered twice against South Africa. As a pitcher, he beat Ben Hernandez of #2 USA and Panama's Marvin Brown. He finished 6-for-12 with 3 walks, 2 homers, 2 runs and 9 RBI, tying for 8th in RBI despite playing fewer than half the games on offense. He was 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 17 K in 13 1/3 IP, trailing only Alejandro Rosario in wins while being one K behind leader Yasunobu Okugawa. He was drafted by the Hanshin Tigers in the first round of the 2019 NPB draft, and he went 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA in the NPB Farm Leagues in 2020. He debuted against the Yakult Swallows on May 19, 2021, and he got the win with 5 shutout innings. Nishi was the youngest drafted player to get a win in his first game in NPB history. He ended up 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA that season. Nishi was 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 2022, and he won a vote in the Rookie of the Year Voting.

The Hiroshima native was 5-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023, and he pitched 1 1/3 innings with an unearned run allowed in the 2023 Nippon Series Game 5. The Tigers beat the Orix Buffaloes in 7 games, and Nishi won his first title. He only pitched 4 games in 2024, and he missed most of the season due to right elbow injury.

Sources

• 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup
• Wiki Japan