Shoma Fujihira

Shoma Fujihira (藤平 尚真)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 187 lbs.

• High School Yokohama High School

• Born September 21, 1998 in Futtsu, Chiba Japan

BR register page

Biographical Information

Shoma Fujihira has pitched in Nippon Pro Baseball.

Fujihira represented Japan in the 2016 BFA U-18 Baseball Championship. He was drafted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the first round of the 2016 NPB draft; the scout was Masahiko Goseki. He went 3-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 8 starts in his first year. He went 4-7 with a 4.43 ERA in 2018, but he mainly stayed in the NPB Farm Leagues in 2019. Fujihara was 9-2 with a 2.91 ERA in the minors, but he allowed 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings with the big club. He then spent the next two years in the ni-gun. In his only appearances in 2020, he plunked Koji Ohshiro in his head in the first inning after giving up a hit, and he was ejected. Fujihara had a 3.97 ERA in 8 games in 2022, then he went 2-4 with a 4.44 ERA in 2023. The Golden Eagles turned him into a reliever in 2024, and that saved his career. Fujihara notched 20 holds in 47 games, and his ERA was solid 1.75. He was 8th in holds in the Pacific League, between Darwinzon Hernández and Naoki Miyanishi.

That earned him a spot on Samurai Japan's roster for the 2024 Premier 12. He relieved Rikuto Yokoyama in the 6th inning against Australia, and he struck out all three batters he faced (Darryl George, Alex Hall and Robbie Perkins). Fujihira then succeeded Chihiro Sumida in the 8th inning versus South Korea, and he again struck out all three batters he faced (Dong-hee Yoon, Won-jun Choi and Dong-won Park). Fujihira replaced Tatsuya Shimizu in the 9th inning against Cuba, but he was influenced by heavy rain, so he surrendered back-to-back singles to Alfredo Despaigne and Ariel Martínez then plunked Erisbel Arruebarruena. Hopefully, he then struck out Yoan Moncada and Andy Cosme to notch a save. Fujihira pitched in the 8th inning against Venezuela, and he fanned 2 in a shutout inning (against Angel Reyes and Jermaine Palacios). He added a shutout inning with a strikeout of Luke Ritter against the USA, and he relieved Sumida in the 8th inning against Chinese Taipei in the Gold Medal Game. Fujihira gave up a double to Kun-Yu Chiang, then he retired Tung-Hua Yueh, struck out Lyle Lin and got Cheng-Yu Chang to end his work. He had a perfect 0.00 ERA in 6 innings in the event, and he led the event with 6 appearances (tied with Kuan-Yu Chen and Enderson Franco). He struck out 12 of 23 batters he faced. <ref> 2024 Premier 12.

Fujihira was named Rakuten's closer after Takahiro Norimoto struggled in the middle of the 2025 season, and he notched 21 holds and 12 saves with a 2.11 ERA in 62 appearances. He was 6th in saves (tied with Yokoyama), 6th in holds (18 behind Yuki Matsumoto) and 3rd in games (behind Kazuki Sugiyama and Masaya Nishigaki).