Toshiki Sakurai

Toshiki Sakurai (桜井 俊貴)

• Bats Right Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.

• School Ritsumeikan University
• High School Kitasuma High School

• Born October 21, 1993 in Kobe, Hyogo Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Toshiki Sakurai has pitched in NPB for 6 years.

Sakurai represented Japan in the 2014 U-21 Baseball World Cup, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and beating Taiwan. He was drafted by the Yomiuri Giants in the first round of the 2015 NPB draft , and he only pitched one game with the big club in his rookie year. Sakurai had a 5.21 ERA in 19 relief outings in 2017, and he spent the entire 2018 season in the NPB Farm Leagues. He joined the rotation in 2019, and he was 8-6 with a 4.32 ERA in 29 appearances. He relieved Kan Otake in the 7th inning of the 2019 Nippon Series Game 2, and he allowed 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings. The Softbank Hawks swept the Giants. He won a point in the CL MVP Voting. However, Sakurai slumped to 2-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 2020, and he recorded a 5.40 ERA in 29 relief outings in 2021. Sakurai only pitched 8 games in 2022, and he announced his retirement. He later scouted for the Giants.

Overall, Sakurai was 13-12 with a 5.18 ERA, collected 10 saves in 110 appearances and struck out 175 in 245 innings in 6 seasons in the NPB.