Katsuki Matayoshi

Katsuki Matayoshi (又吉 克樹)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 163 lb.

• School International Pacific University
• High School Nishihara High School

• Born November 4, 1990 in Urasoe, Okinawa Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Katsuki Matayoshi has made multiple All-Star teams in Japan. His brother Akifumi Matayoshi played in Japan's independent leagues.

Matayoshi was 13-18 in college, but won an ERA title. He signed with the independent Kagawa Olive Guyners for 2013; he was 13-4 with a 1.64 ERA, leading the Shikoku Island League in wins and finishing second in ERA. His fastball, peaking at 68 mph when he began college, was now in the low 90s. He was then picked by the Chunichi Dragons in the second round of the 2013 NPB draft, one round after Shota Suzuki. He was the first player from independent league to be drafted in the second round or higher.

The Okinawa native was superb as a rookie in 2014, going 9-1 with two saves, 24 holds, a 2.21 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 104 K in 81 1/3 IP. He was second to Central League leader Koji Fukutani in games pitched and easily led full-time relievers in strikeouts, 23 ahead of Seung-hwan Oh. Matayoshi also ranked 4th in holds, between Koji Fukutani and Yuya Ando. He finished second to Daichi Osera in voting for the 2014 Central League Rookie of the Year Award, 217 votes to 24. He was one of the Licey Tigers' top relievers that winter, striking out 24 in 16 innings with a 1.69 ERA and 1.00 WHIP, though he was 0-2. Only Warner Madrigal and Juan Jaime pitched more games for Licey.

Matayoshi pitched for Team Japan against Team Europe in a March 2015 exhibition series, getting the win over Loek van Mil in the opener as Japan rallied. He was 6-6 with a 3.36 ERA and 82 K in 72 1/3 IP in 2015, not nearly as dominant as a rookie but still sharp. He tied Scott Mathieson and Oh for 5th in the CL with 63 games pitched, and he was 3rd in holds (3 behind Shinobu Fukuhara and Logan Ondrusek). In 2016, he was again 6-6, this time with a 2.80 ERA and 55 K in 54 2/3 IP. He tied Kota Suda for 9th in the league with 62 games pitched.

In 2017 NPB All-Star Game 1, Matayoshi relieved Akitake Okada in the 7th with a 2-1 lead over the Pacific League. He allowed singles to Seiichi Uchikawa and Haruki Nishikawa then retired Nobuhiro Matsuda and Sho Nakata (the latter by strikeout). Alfredo Despaigne singled, though, to tie the game, before Matoyoshi recovered to fan Brandon Laird. Marcos Mateo took over and the CL could not hold on. He was 8-3 with a 2.13 ERA for 2017 and worked out of the rotation for the first time, making nine appearances in addition to 41 in relief. He then represented Japan in the 2017 Asia Professional Baseball Championship. Matayoshi relieved Yasuaki Yamasaki in the 10th inning against South Korea, but he allowed back-to-back doubles to Ji-hyuk Ryu and Joo-suk Ha, then he retired Ik-hun An. However, he then walked Seung-taek Han and Mizuki Hori relieved him. Japan won Gold in the event.

The right-hander fell to 2-5, 6.53 in a rough 2018. He was 3-3 with a 4.06 ERA in 2019 and 4-0, 2.77 in 2020 as his comeback continued. In 2021 NPB All-Star Game 1, he relieved Kazuki Mishima with a 4-3 lead in the 6th and struck out Laird like in 2017's All-Star Game. He then got Masataka Yoshida and Yutaro Sugimoto to end the inning. Scott McGough relieved in the 7th. He finished the 2021 season 3-2 with 8 saves, 33 holds and a 1.28 ERA, showing he was back. He tied McGough for second in the league in games pitched (66) (6 behind Noboru Shimizu), and he was 3rd in holds (between Suguru Iwazaki and Edwin Escobar).

Matayoshi announced that he would become a free agent after that season, and he was the first player from independent league to use this right. The Softbank Hawks signed him with a 4-year, 650 million yen contract. He notched 14 holds with a 2.10 ERA in 31 relief outings in 2022, and he was selected into the 2022 NPB All-Star Game; Matayoshi fractured his right foot so he didn't play. He then collected 10 holds with a 2.25 ERA in 32 appearances in 2023, and his ERA was 3.54 in 40 games in 2024.