Yugo Maeda

Yugo Maeda (前田 悠伍)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 167 lbs.

• High School Osaka Toin High School

• Born August 4, 2005 in Nagahama, Shiga Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yugo Maeda has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Maeda represented Japan in the 2023 U-18 Baseball World Cup, and he pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts to beat Cooper Williams of the USA. He then pitched 4 shutout innings against South Korea, and he started in the Gold Medal Game against Chinese Taipei. Maeda allowed his only run of the event because of Ching-Hsien Ko's RBI single, but he still completed the game with 5 strikeouts to get the win over Yi-Lei Sun and Japan got its first World Junior title. Teammate Ren Ogata beat him out for the MVP.

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Nippon Ham Fighters and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks picked him in the first round of the 2023 NPB draft, and the Hawks won the lottery for the right to him. Maeda had a 1.94 ERA in 65 innings in the NPB Farm Leagues in 2024, and he made his NPB debut on October 1. However, he allowed 6 runs in 3 innings against Orix Buffaloes, and he got the loss.