Ryota Sekiya

Ryota Sekiya (関谷 亮太)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 185 lb.

• School Meiji University
• High School The Third High School of Nihon University

• Born May 10, 1991 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Ryota Sekiya has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and for the Japanese national team.

After college, he pitched in the industrial leagues. He was then on Japan's squad for the 2014 Asian Games. He threw shutout ball over four innings in two relief appearances, then got the start against China in the Bronze Medal Game. He dominated, allowing only two hits (to Wei Wang and Meng Weiqiang) in six shutout frames before Tsukasa Komatsu relieved; Sekiya got the win. He tied Haifan Yang for 3rd in the Games with 9 K (behind Kuan-Yu Chen and Chun-Lin Kuo). His 10 IP tied Chen for 3rd, behind Yang and Munkhbat Dashzeveg and he led the Games in ERA.

The Chiba Lotte Marines took him in the second round of the 2015 NPB draft, after Taiga Hirasawa. In 2016, he was 5-6 with a 5.52 ERA for the Marines and also pitched on the farm (2-2, 4.68). In 2017, he was 2-4 with a 3.80 ERA for the big club and had a 3-5, 3.18 record in the minors with only 21 walks in 87 2/3 IP. He was 8th in the minor Eastern League in innings pitched.

In 2018, he was 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA in the minors, now in the bullpen, and only pitched two games for the top team (3 R in 5 IP). In 2019, he was only on the farm (6-7, 3.53). He tied for 5th in the EL in wins and tied for 3rd in losses. He retired at season's end to become a batting practice pitcher for the Marines.

He had gone 7-10 with a 4.96 ERA in 28 NPB games and 13-15 on the farm.