Naoya Masuda (02)

Naoya Masuda (益田 直也)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 176 lb.

• School Kansai International University
• High School Wakayama Municipal Commercial High School

• Born October 25, 1989 in Kinokawa, Wakayama Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Naoya Masuda has been a Pacific League Rookie of the Year.

Masuda was picked by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the 4th round of the 2011 NPB draft. He had a superb rookie season in 2012, going 2-2 with 41 holds, a save and a 1.67 ERA in 72 games. He was second in the PL in games pitched (1 behind Hirotoshi Masui) and second in holds (4 behind Masui). He served as a setup man for Yasuhiko Yabuta. He set PL records for games pitched and holds by a rookie. He won the 2012 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, with 116 of 210 votes; Shota Takeda was a close second with 80 votes. He also made the PL All-Star team, and he allowed a run in an inning in the 2012 NPB All-Star Game 1.

The Wakayama native became the closer in 2013, going 2-6 with 33 saves and a 2.76 ERA, striking out 66 in 62 innings. He was again an All-Star, and he got the win over Tetsuya Yamamoto with a shutout inning in the 2013 NPB All-Star Game 3. Masuda led the PL in both appearances (68, one ahead of Tatsuya Sato) and saves (two ahead of Yoshihisa Hirano and Hisashi Takeda). In May, he made 18 appearances and registered 10 saves. He tied Kazuhisa Inao's 57-year-old PL record for games pitched in a month. He set a franchise record for saves in a month, breaking Masahide Kobayashi's mark. He won one vote in the PL MVP voting.

Masuda slumped to a 4.94 ERA with 23 holds in 52 relief outings in 2014, and Yuji Nishino took his closer spot. He was 7th in holds, tied with Tomohisa Ohtani and Hiroyuki Fukuyama. Masuda notched 11 holds with a 3.91 ERA in 51 games in 2015, and he bounced back in 2016. He collected 21 holds and 14 saves with a solid 1.83 ERA in 61 appearances, and he was 4th in games (8 behind Fukuyama) and 7th in saves (between Masui and Nishino). He was also selected into the 2016 NPB All-Star Game, and he completed a shutout inning in Game 2. Masuda's ERA rose to 5.09 in 38 games in 2017, and he pitched 70 games with a 3.08 ERA and 17 holds in 2018. Masuda was 2nd in appearances, tied with Yuhei Takanashi.

The closer of Chiba Lotte had another elite season in 2019, and he notched 27 saves and 12 holds in 60 games with a 2.15 ERA. Masuda was 9th in appearances (tied with Naoya Ishikawa and Livan Moinelo) and 4th in saves (between Tatsushi Masuda and Ryo Akiyoshi). He extended his solid performance in 2020 as his ERA was 2.25 in 54 appearances, and he collected 31 saves and 5 holds. Masuda led the league in games pitched again, and he was 3rd in saves (between Yuito Mori and Alan Busenitz). He was selected into the 2021 NPB All-Star Game, but he allowed a game-winning sacrifice fly to Yuhei Nakamura and got the loss in Game 1. On June 4, he became the first pitcher to get both a win and a save with only one pitch during his time in the Pacific League, with a win against the Yokohama BayStars. Masuda collected 38 saves with a 2.24 ERA in 67 games in 2021 season, and he led the league in saves and appearances. He also set the NPB record with 67 games finished in a season. He won 16 points in the PL MVP voting, and he was 5th between Hiroya Miyagi and Takashi Ogino.

Masuda was voted into the 2022 NPB All-Star Game, and he pitched a shutout inning with a strikeout in Game 1. He relieved Yuki Matsui in the 9th inning of Game 2, but he surrendered back-to-back singles to Shugo Maki and Koji Chikamoto. Masuda still retired Keita Sano and got a save. He collected 25 saves with a 3.29 ERA in 52 games in 2022, and he was 4th in saves (between Yoshihisa Hirano and Moinelo). He became the first PL player to get 100 saves in the same stadium (on his homefield, Zozo Marine Stadium), and he did it on May 18, 2023 against the Orix Buffaloes. Masuda ended up 2-5 with a 3.71 ERA and 36 saves in 58 games in 2023, and he was 3rd in appearances (between Matsui and Tomohiro Anraku) and 2nd in saves (6 behind Matsui). Masuda then collected 25 saves with a 2.59 ERA in 44 relief outings in 2024, and he ranked 3rd in saves (between Albert Abreu and Roberto Osuna).

His fastball has peaked around 94 mph, and he throws a slider, sinker, cutter and curveball. As of 2024, he ranked 13th in NPB history in appearances (between Yoshitaka Katori and Masatoshi Gondo), 6th in holds (between Katsuki Matayoshi and Ryota Igarashi) and 5th in saves (between Yoshihisa Hirano and Kyuji Fujikawa).

Sources

• Yakyubaka
• Japanese Wikipedia