On Tuesday, right-handed pitcher Daniel Padysak signed a one-year contract with the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club, an Eastern League team in the farm system of Nippon Professional Baseball. The Niigata-based team is independent of any organization in NPB.
With the signing, Padysak became the second player from Czechia to enter the NPB circuit. The other is outfielder Marek Chlup, who signed a developmental contract with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants in September 2024.
Padysak, 24, played four seasons (2020-23) of college baseball at Charleston Southern University and added a fifth year at the University of Georgia in 2024. He threw 22.1 innings for the Bulldogs last season, posting a 7.66 ERA with 21 strikeouts.
In the summer of 2023, Padysak made 10 appearances for the State College Spikes in the MLB Draft League. He won Pitcher of the Month that June for his eight relief appearances with a 0.57 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and two saves.
In international play, Padysak represented Czechia at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Standing six-foot-five, Padysak was the second tallest player on the roster behind fellow pitcher Marek Minarik, who is six-foot-eight. Padysak was the starting pitcher for Czechia in their opening game against China in the WBC. He threw four scoreless innings, helping his team win 8-5. The game, played at the Tokyo Dome in Bunkyo, Japan, was Czechia’s first win in WBC history.
Before making a name for himself in college and at the WBC, Padysak had little knowledge about baseball growing up, he told the University of Georgia athletics website.
“I grew up in the Czech Republic, where baseball is not a big sport,” Padysak said in an interview with the University of Georgia in 2024. “My dad was the one who used to play baseball, and I didn’t know anything about it. One day, he came to me and asked if I wanted to try it. I tried it, played for a couple years, t-ball and little league. I wouldn’t say I was very good at it, but I enjoyed it so much. I stuck with it, and the rest is history. Now I am here.”
Now, Padysak should receive an excellent opportunity to see a lot of action on the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club mound. The most innings he’s thrown in a season was 62.2 in 2021 for Charleston Southern. That year, all 12 of his appearances came as a starter.
The Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club competes in the Eastern League with the affiliates of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, Yomiuri Giants, Saitama Seibu Lions, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Chiba Lotte Marines, and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Oisix finished the 2024 regular season in last place in the division at 41-79-6.
The club plays its home games at Niigata Prefectural Baseball Stadium in Niigata, Niigata.
