Yuta Kuroki

Yuta Kuroki (黒木 優太)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 172 lbs.

• School Rissho University
• High School Tachibana Gakuen High School

• Born August 16, 1994 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Yuta Kuroki has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Kuroki was drafted by the Orix Buffaloes in the second round of the 2016 NPB draft, and he soon became an important part of their bullpen. He notched 25 holds with a 4.22 ERA in 55 games, and ranked 7th in holds (15 behind Sho Iwasaki). He was also selected for the 2017 NPB All-Star Games. He relieved Kota Futaki in the 8th inning of Game 2, and retired Yohei Oshima, Ryosuke Kikuchi and Hayato Sakamoto respectively. He was then replaced by Keisuke Tanimoto. He also received a 2nd-place vote in the 2017 PL MVP voting. Kuroki only pitched 39 games with a 4.50 ERA and 17 holds in 2018, and missed the next two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. He started pitching again in 2021, but he injured his right shoulder and he was unable to pitch any games with the big club.

The Yokohama native finally came back in 2022. He pitched 27 games with a solid 2.36 ERA, and notched 5 holds. Kuroki only pitched one game against the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Game 2 of the final stage in 2022 PLCS, and he didn't pitch in the 2022 Nippon Series. Kuroki struggled in 2023, as he recorded a terrible 6.58 ERA in 12 games and got 5 losses. The Buffaloes then traded him to the Nippon Ham Fighters for Kosei Yoshida after this season.

Kuroki's repertoire features a fastball that peaks at 96.9 mph, a forkball, changeup, slider and a curveball.