Kotaro Kiyomiya

Kotaro Kiyomiya (清宮 幸太郎)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 224 lb.

• High School Waseda Jitsugyo High School

• Born May 25, 1999 in Shinjuku, Tokyo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Kotaro Kiyomiya was a top amateur star in Japan who made his first NPB All-Star Game at age 23 and promptly won MVP of the event.

Kiyomiya dazzled in Tokyo's title run in the 2012 Little League World Series. He struck out eight and allowed one hit and one run in four innings in the opening win over Willemstad, homered to beat Aguadulce, Coclé as Japan locked up their semifinal spot, went deep twice in the international finale (also against Panama) then scored twice and struck out 7 of 11 batters to beat Goodlettsville, TN in the championship game. He hit .667 (second in the LLWS), tied for the most runs (6), tied for 3rd in hits (8), tied for second in doubles (2), tied for second in homers (3), was 4th in RBI (6), led in walks (5), was 3rd in OBP, led in slugging, led in OPS (346), tied for 8th in IP, tied for 4th in K and tied for first in wins. American media called him the Japanese Babe Ruth (though in a few years, Shohei Ohtani would be a more reasonable claim to that title).

He was Japan's youngest player in the 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cup. Playing DH primarily, he hit .222/.364/.259 with six walks in eight games for the Silver Medalists, going 1 for 4 against Nick Pratto and company in the title game loss to the US. Despite his youth, he hit cleanup in the title game. He tied Tristan Pompey and others for 7th in the event in walks. He batted .219/.317/.469 with two homers and seven RBI in nine games in the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup while handling 60 chances error-free at first. He tied for 9th in RBI, tied for second in homers (one behind Triston Casas) and led with three sacrifice flies (Denzel Clarke was the only other player with more than one). Japan won the Bronze.

Kiyomiya hit an unofficial 111 home runs during his high school career. Given his stardom from ages 12 to 18, he was a hot commodity going into the 2017 NPB draft. Seven of the twelve teams opted for him with their first pick (the Rakuten Golden Eagles, Chiba Lotte Marines, Hanshin Tigers, Nippon Ham Fighters, Yomiuri Giants, Softbank Hawks and Yakult Swallows), with Nippon Ham winning the lottery to his rights. It was the most teams that had picked a high schooler since Kosuke Fukudome.

The Tokyo native got his first NPB at-bat and hit off Yuki Nishi and his first homer off Brandon Dickson. He hit only .200/.283/.381 in 53 games as a rookie in 2018 though he showed pop in the minors (.244/.324/.606, 17 HR in 45 G). He got two votes for 2018 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, 5th, well behind Kazuki Tanaka, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ren Kajiya and Yudai Fujioka. He tied Munetaka Murakami for second in the minor Eastern League in homers, one behind Ren Wada. In 2019, he battled wrist and hamate injuries and again struggled (.204/.270/.340 in 81 G).

During 2020, he split first base with the great Sho Nakata (Nakata was at DH when Kiyomiya was at 1B) but continued to hit poorly (.190/.300/.323). He spent all of 2021 in the minors, again hitting under the Mendoza Line (.199/.289/.411), though he showed good power (19 HR, 60 RBI in 92 G). He led the EL in doubles (24, two ahead of Ryusei Takeoka), tied Kento Watanabe for the home run lead and was second in RBI (4 behind Watanabe). He also led with 113 strikeouts, though.

Kiyomiya started 2022 better than any of his prior NPB stints, though contact remained an issue. He still made the Pacific League team for the 2022 NPB All-Star Games. In Game 1, he replaced Masataka Yoshida in left. His first time up, he drew a walk from Atsuki Yuasa. He then came to bat in the bottom of the 9th with a 2-2 game and took Masato Morishita deep for the first sayonara homer in a NPB All-Star Game since Sadaaki Yoshimura in 1986. The last PL player had been Yasuhiro Takai in 1974. He was an obvious pick for Game MVP. In Game 2, he hit leadoff and played third (moving to first then left later in the game), going 1 for 4 by opening with a hit off Hiroki Tokoda. His bat again delivered the winning homer, though, when he lent it to Yuki Yanagita.