Kazuki Yabuta

Kazuki Yabuta (薮田 和樹)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lbs.

• School Asia University
• High School Okayama University of Science High School

• Born August 7, 1992 in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kazuki Yabuta has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Yabuta was drafted by the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the second round of the 2014 NPB draft, and he spent his first season mainly in the NPB Farm Leagues, only having six appearances with the big club during this period.<refs> NPB.com Bio </ref> Yabuta had 16 relief outings in 2017, and he collected 3 wins with a 2.61 ERA. He was turned into a starter after the interleague games, and ended up 15-3 with a 2.58 ERA and 3 holds. He led the league in winning percentage and ranked 2nd in wins (2 behind Tomoyuki Sugano). Yabuta also appeared in 2017 NPB All-Star Game 2, and relieved Yasuhiro Ogawa in the 8th inning. He retired Haruki Nishikawa and Alfredo Despaigne, then struck out Brandon Laird. In the 2017 CLCS, he shutout the Yokohama BayStars in Game 1 of the final stage, but allowed 4 runs in 4 innings in his next outing and Joe Wieland got the won over him. The Carp were eliminated by the BayStars in 5 games. He won 381 points in 2017 Central League Most Valuable Player Award voting, ranking 2nd behind his teammate Yoshihiro Maru's 1,134 points. After this season, he represented Japan in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship and won Gold.

However, Yabuta struggled in 2018 as his ERA was 5.74, and he only had 4 appearances with the big club in 2019. He bounced back a little in 2020 when he recorded a 4.60 ERA in 28 appearances, but he then spent the entire 2021 season in the ni-gun. He was a full-time reliever in 2022 but his ERA was 4.18, and the Carp released him after he only pitched 3 games with the big club in 2023.

Yabuta's repertoire features a fastball that peaks at 96.9 mph, a cutter and a curveball.