Katsuki Azuma

Katsuki Azuma (東 克樹)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 7", Weight 167 lb.

• School Ritsumeikan University
• High School Aichi Institute of Technology Meiden High School

• Born November 29, 1995 in Yokkaichi, Mie Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Katsuki Azuma has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Azuma was picked by the Yokohama BayStars in the first round of the 2017 NPB draft; they were the only team to pick someone not chosen by any other team, avoiding the lottery (Daiki Tajima and Shosei Nakamura were each picked by two teams, Kotaro Kiyomiya by seven). He was very good as a rookie and made the Central League squad for the 2018 NPB All-Star Games. In Game 1, he relieved Onelki Garcia in the 7th with a 7-5 deficit against the Pacific League. He allowed a single to Takuya Kai but then retired Nobuhiro Matsuda, Sosuke Genda and Shuta Tonosaki in order. In the 8th, after the CL made it a one-run game, he got Akira Nakamura on a grounder, gave up a single to Alfredo Despaigne), whiffed Hotaka Yamakawa (who would win the PL MVP) and retired Masataka Yoshida on a fly.

For the 2018 season, he was 11-5 with a 2.45 ERA and 155 K in 154 IP. He was second in the CL in ERA, .31 behind Sawamura Award winner Tomoyuki Sugano. He was also 3rd in strikeouts (behind Sugano and Daichi Osera) and tied Randy Messenger for 4th in wins. He easily won the 2018 Central League Rookie of the Year Award, getting 290 of 293 votes.

Azuma suffered from a left elbow injury in 2019, so he only started 7 games. He received the Tommy John surgery in the spring training of the 2020, so he missed the entire season and only pitched 3 games in 2021. Azuma struggled in 2022 as his ERA was 4.62 in 12 appearances.

The young southpaw recorded his career year so far in 2023, and he was selected into the 2023 NPB All-Star Games. Azuma relieved Shinnosuke Ogasawara in the 5th inning of Game 1, and struck out Shuta Tonosaki. Kensuke Kondoh then hit a single, and Azuma retired Go Matsumoto and Yuki Yanagita to end his work; Suguru Iwazaki succeeded him. He tied Kazuhiko Endo's team record for a 12-game winning streak by a left-handed pitcher, and ended up 16-3 with a 1.98 ERA. Azuma also set the CL record for the lowest BB%, and his 0.78 BB% ranked 3rd in NPB history, behind Takayuki Kato's 0.67 and Jiro Noguchi's 0.69. He led the league in wins, winning percentage and shutouts, ranked 2nd in ERA (.23 behind Shoki Murakami) and 6th in strikeouts (41 behind Shota Imanaga). Azuma robbed the Best Nine award from CL MVP winner Murakami, and he received 181 points to rank 5th in the 2023 Central League MVP voting, between Iwazaki and Takumu Nakano.

His fastball has topped 94.4 mph, and his repertoire includes a slider, cutter curveball and changeup.