Taisei Ota

Taisei Ota (翁田 大勢)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 194 lb.
• School Kansai International University
• High School Nishiwaki Technical High School

• Born June 29, 1999 in Taka, Hyogo Japan

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Taisei Ota has won a Rookie of the Year in Nippon Pro Baseball. He is registered only as Taisei, the first Japanese player to go by a single name for the Yomiuri Giants. A number of other players had used single names like Ichiro Suzuki being listed as Ichiro when he was with the Orix BlueWave or a number of foreign players, like Dave Nilsson going by Dingo. Michael Nakamura had been registered as Micheal but was not a Japanese national (born in Japan, he was an Australian citizen).

Ota was Yomiuri's fallback first-round pick in the 2021 NPB draft after they lost the lottery for Chihiro Sumida to the Seibu Lions. He debuted against the Chunichi Dragons on March 25, and he notched a save with a shutout inning. Ota was the first CL rookie to get a save on opening day. He was picked for the 2022 NPB All-Star Game but could not pitch due to a COVID-19 infection. He was 1-3 with 37 saves in 38 tries and a 2.05 ERA. He posted a 0.90 WHIP and fanned 60 in 57 innings. His fastball hit 98.8 mph and he added a forkball, slider and change-up. He tied Yasuaki Yamasaki for third in the Central League in saves for 2022, two behind Raidel Martínez and one shy of Scott McGough. He won the 2022 Central League Rookie of the Year Award, with 209 votes. Second place went to Atsuki Yuasa.

The Hyogo native represented Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He relieved Keiji Takahashi in the 7th inning against Australia, and he pitched a shutout inning, with a strikeout against Andrew Campbell. Ota then replaced Yu Darvish in the 9th inning versus Italy, but he gave up back-to-back singles to Miles Mastrobuoni and Alberto Mineo. Taisei then retired Ben DeLuzio and David Fletcher, and he struck out Sal Frelick to close the game. His next appearance was in the 9th inning against Mexico, and he completed a shutout inning, with a strikeout against Austin Barnes. Japan won the game thanks to Munetaka Murakami's walk-off double, and Ota got the win over Giovanny Gallegos. In the Gold Medal Game, Ota relieved Hiromi Itoh in the 7th inning to protect a 3-1 lead, but he allowed a leadoff walk to Jeff McNeil. Mookie Betts added a single, then Ota retired Mike Trout and forced Paul Goldschmidt to ground into a double play to end his work. Yu Darvish succeeded him. Japan won Gold in the event.

Ota struggled after returning to Japan, as he suffered from a right shoulder injury so he only pitched 27 games with a 4.50 ERA and 14 saves during the 2023 campaign. He tied Kota Nakagawa for 8th in saves. Ota bounced back soon, and he collected 29 saves with a solid 0.88 ERA in 43 relief outings in 2024. He tied Kohei Morihara for 3rd in saves, and he was the first Giants pitcher to reach 10 saves in each of his first three seasons. Ota then made it onto Japan's roster for the 2024 Premier 12. He replaced Shoma Fujihira against South Korea, and he retired Dong-won Park, Sung-mun Song and Chang-ki Hong. He then pitched against Chinese Taipei in the 9th inning, and he again retired all three batters he faced (Chieh-Hsien Chen, Cheng-Yu Chang and Sung-En Tseng) and got his second save. Ota succeeded Fujijira in the 9th inning against Venezuela, and Francisco Arcia hit a leadoff single. Ota then forced Diego Castillo to ground into a double play, but Alexi Amarista soon added a single. Carlos Perez drove in a run with a single, and he struck out Herlis Rodríguez to end the game. In the Gold Medal Game against Taiwan, Ota pitched in the 9th inning and he struck out Chen-Wei Chen and Li Lin. Chieh-Hsien Chen hit a single, then Ota got An-Ko Lin and finished his work. Japan won Silver in the event. Only Chun-Wei Wu had more saves in the event.

When the Giants signed Martinez, Ota was moved to the setup man spot, and he fit the job well. He was selected into the 2025 NPB All-Star Game, and he retired all three batters he faced (Ukyo Shuto, Seiya Watanabe and Ryusei Terachi) in Game 2. He notched 46 holds with a 2.11 ERA and a 8-4 record in 62 games, and he tied Eito Tanaka for 3rd in appearances. Ota won the NPB Most Valuable Setup Pitcher Award award, and he broke Scott Mathieson's team record with 54 hold points in a season. He then made it onto Japan's roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.