Naoya Masuda (02)

Naoya Masuda (益田 直也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.

• School Kansai International University
• High School Wakayama Shogyo High School

• Born October 25, 1989 in Kinokawa, Wakayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Naoya Masuda has been a Pacific League Rookie of the Year.

Masuda was picked by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the 4th round of the 2011 NPB draft. He had a superb rookie season in 2012, going 2-2 with 41 holds, a save and a 1.67 ERA in 72 games. He was second in the PL in games pitched, one behind Hirotoshi Masui. He served as a setup man for Yasuhiko Yabuta. He set PL records for games pitched and holds by a rookie. He won the 2012 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, with 116 of 210 votes; Shota Takeda was a close second with 80 votes. He also made the PL All-Star team. Masuda became the closer in 2013, going 2-6 with 33 saves and a 2.76 ERA, striking out 66 in 62 innings. He was again an All-Star, leading the PL in both appearances (68, one ahead of Tatsuya Sato) and saves (two ahead of Yoshihisa Hirano and Hisashi Takeda). In May, he made 18 appearances and registered 10 saves. He tied Kazuhisa Inao's 57-year-old PL record for games pitched in a month. He set a franchise record for saves in a month, breaking Masahide Kobayashi's mark.

His fastball has peaked around 94 mph.

Sources

• Yakyubaka
• Japanese Wikipedia