Shinya Kayama

Shinya Kayama (嘉弥真 新也)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 7", Weight 143 lb.

• High School Yaeyama Norin High School

• Born November 23, 1989 in Ishigaki, Okinawa Japan

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Biographical Information

Shinya Kayama has been a reliable reliever for several Japan Series champions and has been on the Japanese national team.

Kayama pitched in the industrial leagues after high school. The Softbank Hawks took him in the 5th round of the 2011 NPB draft. He excelled in the minors in 2012, going 3-2 with 3 saves and a 2.09 ERA in 34 games in the Western League but struggled in four games with the big club (6 H, 5 BB, 8 R, 6 ER in 4 1/3 IP). He was 10th in the WL with 34 appearances. He was 1-3 with a 5.30 ERA for the Atenienses de Manatí in the 2012-2013 Puerto Rican Winter League.

The little lefty spent most of 2013 with the Hawks' top team (3-1, 2.32 ERA, .99 WHIP in 40 G) and was 6-1 with a 0.71 ERA in the minors. He tied Ren Nakata and Nao Higashihama for 5th in the WL in wins despite his limited time on the farm. He was 0-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 32 games for the 2014 Hawks (2-1, 2.41, .96 WHIP in 12 minor league games). In 2015, he had a 4.20 ERA in 16 games while also doing well in the minors (2-0, 3 Sv, 1.61.

The Okinawa native struggled in 2016 (8.59 ERA in 5 G) but remained a standout in the minors (3-3, 11 Sv, 2.27 in 39 G). He tied Daisuke Sobue for the WL lead in saves and was 6th in games pitched. By 2017, he was a regular for Softbank out of the 'pen, going 2-0 with 2.76 ERA as a LOOGY (32 2/3 IP in 58 G, fanning 47). He tied Yoshihisa Hirano, Kazuhisa Makita and Shota Takekuma for 7th in the PL in appearances. He retired four of five batters in the 2017 Japan Series, spread over four games; only Toshihiko Kuramoto reached against him. He tied for the team lead in appearances as they won the Series over the Yokohama BayStars.

The slender southpaw went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and .85 WHIP in 67 games and 33 IP in 2018. He was 4th in the PL in outings, between Yuhei Takahashi and Yuito Mori. He excelled in the 2018 Japan Series, with one hit in 3 1/3 IP over five games (tied with Shota Takeda for the team lead) as the Hawks beat the Hiroshima Carp in six contests.

In 2019, he was 2-2 with a save and a 2.61 ERA, working 31 innings over 54 games. He only faced one batter when Softbank swept the Yomiuri Giants in the 2019 Japan Series for a three-peat.

He made Japan's squad for the 2019 Premier 12. Again a lefty specialist, he pitched one inning over three games for the champs! He debuted against Puerto Rico, relieving Rei Takahashi in the 7th with a 4-0 lead. He retired Danny Ortiz then Kan Otake took over. Against Team USA, he replaced Taisuke Yamaoka with a 3-1 deficit in the 5th, two on and two out and fanned Jake Cronenworth. Yudai Ono succeeded him to open the 6th. Finally, against defending champion South Korea, he relieved Yamaoka with two outs in the 7th, a 9-8 lead and two on. He again stranded a pair, whiffing Eui-ji Yang. Otake took over in the 8th.