Kazuki Yoshimi

Kazuki Yoshimi (吉見 一起)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Konko Osaka High School

• Born September 19, 1984 in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Kazuki Yoshimi led the Central League in wins in his first full season as a starter.

Yoshimi played for Toyota Motors in the industrial leagues after high school. The Chunichi Dragons took him in the first round in the 2005 NPB draft. He debuted with the big club in 2006, going 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two starts and two relief appearances. He threw one scoreless inning in the 2006 Japan Series, which the Dragons lost to the Nippon Ham Fighters. He was 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA and .397 opponent average in five games (four starts) in 2007. In 2008, the 23-year-old went 10-3 with a 3.23 ERA in 14 starts and 21 relief outings; he started the season with 24 2/3 consecutive shutout innings and 8 wins in a row. He made the Central League All-Star team but did not play due to a shoulder problem. Yoshimi also threw the first 11-hit shutout since 1989. Had he qualified, he would have been 8th in the CL in ERA. He was 10th in wins, tied Colby Lewis for the most shutouts (2) and tied for second in complete games (3, one behind leader Daisuke Miura.

Kazuki was excellent in 2009, going 16-7 with a 2.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 2.00 ERA. He finished second in ERA (between Wei-Yin Chen and Dicky Gonzalez), tied for the most wins (with Shohei Tateyama), was 4th in innings (189 1/3), tied Chen for the most shutouts (4), tied for second in complete games (5, one behind Miura) and tied Kenta Maeda for third in strikeouts (147, behind Lewis and Atsushi Nohmi). He finished eighth in voting for the 2009 Central League Most Valuable Player Award, trailing only teammate Tony Blanco among non-Yomiuri Giants. He lost the Best Nine award for the league's top pitcher to Gonzalez.

Yoshimi fell to 12-9, 3.50 in 2010. He was 7th in ERA, was 8th in innings (156 2/3), tied for 7th in losses, tied for 6th in wins (with Takuya Asao, Tateyama and Yoshinori Sato), was 7th in homers allowed (19), 8th in strikeouts (115) and was 5th with a 1.17 WHIP (between Tateyama and Masanori Ishikawa).

Yoshimi throws a slider, splitter, shuuto (two-seamer) and four-seam fastball (tops out at 93 mph).

Source: Japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland