Atsuki Yuasa

Atsuki Yuasa (湯浅 京己)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 194 lb.

• High School Seiko Gakuen High School

• Born July 17, 1999 in Owase, Mie Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Atsuki Yuasa has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball and been on the Japanese national team.

Yuasa joined the Toyama GRN Thunderbirds of the independent Baseball Challenge League out of high school. He was 3-7 with a 5.72 ERA for them in 2018. He still showed enough promise that the Hanshin Tigers took him in the 6th round of the 2018 NPB draft. He pitched briefly in the Japanese minors in 2019, then missed time that year and all of the next due to injury. He was 2-1 with four saves, a .79 WHIP and 2.66 ERA in 18 minor league games in 2021 and hit 95 mph with his fastball, earning him a call-up. He struggled with the big club, allowing ten hits and seven runs (six earned) in three innings. His first NPB strikeout victim was Yuma Tongu.

Making major strides in 2022, he became a top reliever. He made the Central League All-Star team. In 2022 NPB All-Star Game 1, he relieved Hiromu Ise in the 7th with a 2-2 tie against the Pacific League. He retired Akito Takabe, allowed a hit to Hiroaki Shimauchi and walked Kotaro Kiyomiya then recovered to get Hiroto Kobukata and Hotaka Yamakawa to end the threat. Masato Morishita relieved in the 8th. He was 2-3 with a 1.09 ERA and 43 holds in 59 games, striking out 67 in 58 innings. He split NPB Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award honors with Yariel Rodríguez, becoming the youngest player to win in the CL; Mizuki Hori had won at age 23 in the PL. He got 74 votes for the 2022 CL Rookie of the Year, finishing second to Taisei Ota. He had a better ERA than Ota, but Ota was a closer and they get more attention. He also got one third-place vote for the 2022 Central League Most Valuable Player Award.

The right-hander made Japan's roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He was the first indy league alumnus to make Japan's squad. Yuasa relieved Shosei Togo in the 8th inning against China, and he struck out all three batters he faced - Jinjun Luo, Ning Li and Pei Liang. He then completed a shutout inning against Australia, and he succeeded Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the 8th against Mexico. Yuasa struck out Rowdy Tellez, but he than gave up a RBI single to Isaac Paredes. Fortunately, Masataka Yoshida threw out Randy Arozarena at home, and Japan won the game thanks to Munetaka Murakami's walk-off hit. Japan beat the USA and won Gold in the tournament.

Yuasa struggled in 2023, and he only pitched 15 games with a 4.40 ERA. He relieved Hiroya Shimamoto in the 8th inning of the 2023 Nippon Series Game 4 when runners were on first and third, and he struck out Keita Nakagawa to maintain the tie. Yuasa completed a shutout inning in Game 5, and the Tigers beat the Orix Buffaloes in 7 games. He missed the entire 2024 season due to ossification of the yellow ligament.