The 2025 NPB season is shaping up to be an exciting one, filled with stars ready to take the spotlight. From sluggers with power to spare, to rising stars who are poised to make their mark, there’s no shortage of talent in Japan. Franmil Reyes is coming off a sizzling second half in 2024 and can potentially win a Triple Crown in 2025. Meanwhile, veterans like Kazuma Okamoto continue to show why they’re among the league’s best. With so many players at the top of their game, let’s dive into the top 15 position players in NPB.
2024 Stats: 329 PA, .300 AVG, .374 OBP, .524 SLG, 15 HR, 1 SB, 175 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
Kotaro Kiyomiya’s pro career is the ultimate reminder that player development (especially in baseball) is far from linear. In 2017, the now 25-year-old held the Japanese high school home run record with 111 homers over three seasons and was selected by seven NPB teams in the 2017 Draft. Some of the teams that missed out on the prodigy went with their backup choice, Munetaka Murakami. Kiyomiya struggled massively in his first five years in Hokkaido, earning the “bust” label, meanwhile Munetaka Murakami hit 56 homers in a season, the most ever by a Japanese player, and won two MVP’s.
But the story doesn’t end there, because Kiyomiya revived his career under polarizing skipper Tsuyoshi Shinjo.
Now, it’s Kiyomiya who is on the rise while some questions are being raised about Murakami’s future outlook (more on that below). Kiyomiya put up most of his numbers in last year’s second half, not hitting his first homerun until July, then he and Franmil Reyes became the new “Bash-Brothers” and propelled the Fighters to a surprise 2nd place finish.
What version of Kiyomiya will we see in 2025? The answer might dictate the Fighters season.
2024 Stats: 611 PA, .247 AVG, .318 OBP, .484 SLG, 34 HR, 0 SB, 148 wRC+, 3.3 WAR
Yamakawa is one of the few true big boppers left in Japan. His swing features an elaborate leg kick designed to lift and pull the ball, and he led the Pacific League in homers for the fourth time in 2024 with 34 homers. The 33-year-old was coming off a turbulent 2023 season with the Seibu Lions, who suspended him for the most of the season due to allegations of sexual assault.
At the plate, Yamakawa is not much more than a one-trick pony He doesn’t make a lot of contact nor take many walks, but his defense earned him a Golden Glove in 2024 . He has light-tower power and should be good for 30-plus homers and 90-plus RBIs in the middle of a stacked Hawks lineup. Moving on…
2024 Stats: 496 PA, .268 AVG, .327 OBP, .439 SLG, 16 HR, 0 SB, 129 wRC+, 2.0 WAR
If you wanted a NPB player that personified the modern MLB approach to baseball, look no further than Tigers 3B Teruaki Sato. The 26-year-old has major league power with major league strikeout issues to boot, opting to swing for the fences instead of trying to just put the ball in play. This has made Sato into one of the streakiest hitters in Japan, someone that looks unstoppable at times, but is capable of whiffing at a beach ball as well.
Unlike most streaky sluggers, Sato’s kryptonite isn’t any particular pitch, he just has peaks and valleys that have culminated in four above-average seasons.
Sato’s 3-run homer against Blake Snell was a loud reminder of the 40-plus homer talent he possesses. It’s time to finally see it.
2024 Stats: 225 PA, .286 AVG, .404 OBP, .400 SLG, 4 HR, 3 SB, 153 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
I don’t think anyone is going to be happy with this ranking. To some, Yanagita is one of the greatest Japanese players of all-time (which I agree) and is still a Top Five NPB position player anytime he steps on the field. To others, the 36-year-old’s age and checkered injury record have turned Yanagita into a shell of his former self, and he is on the edge of falling off completely.
My opinion lies somewhere around the middle, Yanagita is no longer the five-tool demigod we saw in his mid-20s, but I also believe he is still one of the scariest at-bats a NPB pitcher can have. Gita’s plate discipline is still pristine, and he hit the ball harder in 2024 compared to his 2 previous seasons but that did not translate to many homers in his limited playing time.
The “Japanese Mike Trout” should see a lot more time at DH this season to preserve his health, and like his American counterpart, he should be elite as long as he is in the lineup.
2024 Stats: 600 PA, .292 AVG, .368 OBP, .478 SLG, 23 HR, 0 SB, 165 wRC+, 4.3 WAR
Once a cast-off by the Baystars, Seiya Hosokawa has emerged as one of NPB’s best hitters after being selected in the Active Player Draft by the Dragons.
Now trapped in a cavernous dome that has gotten the best of almost every Dragons power hitter over the past decade (only Hosokawa(twice), Dayan Viciedo and Alex Guerrero have hit double-digit homers at home since 2014), Hosokawa has solidified himself as the (only) guy teams have to thoroughly game plan against.
Purely as a hitter, Hosokawa should be in the top-10. Unfortunately, his defense in the outfield corners is pitiful and his .377 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) suggest that he got a bit lucky in 2024. It’s also a pity that new Dragons skipper Kazuki Inoue has announced that Hosokawa will bat sixth in the lineup, when he might be a top six NPB hitter.
2024 Stats: 598 PA, .273 AVG, .337 OBP, .471 SLG, 20 HR, 2 SB, 151 wRC+, 6.5 WAR
The 28-year-old Kurihara was one of the Hawks biggest x-factors into their historic 2024 campaign. After suffering a gruesome ACL tear in the beginning of the 2022 season, Kurihara came back slowly from injury in 2023 before re-establishing himself as one of NPB’s best players.
At his best, Kurihara is a complete hitter that can work a good at-bat while supplying above average pop, plus Gold Glove defense at the hot corner. Manager Hiroki Kokubo should move Kurihara down to the five-hole this season to allow for Kensuke Kondoh to move up, but I still expect Kurihara to put up another 20-plus homer campaign with good ratios and great defense.
2024 Stats: 556 PA, .252 AVG, .310 OBP, .425 SLG, 18 HR, 2 SB, 120 wRC+, 3.7 WAR
Me, you, and everyone else are not safe from Chusei Mannami’s rocket arm. The 24-year-old Congolese-Japanese outfielder can gun anyone down from right field with laser-like precision. Thankfully his preferred targets are opposing baserunners and not me in my living room 10000 miles away.
Mannami’s toolbox is filled to the brim, and he is no longer a deer in headlights against NPB pitching — he used to strike out nearly 40% of the time, it’s now down to 21%. The trust that manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo gave to Kotaro Kiyomiya extended to almost all talented young players in Hokkaido, and that included Mannami, who received extended playing time to figure NPB pitching.
The perennial golden glove contender in right field has kept showing plus power at the plate with increasingly diminishing swing and miss, and he is a main piece of the Fighters new championship window.
2024 Stats: 526 PA, .275 AVG, .363 OBP, .441 SLG, 16 HR, 0 SB, 151 wRC+, 3.7 WAR
Call me overly optimistic, but I just see a budding superstar everytime I see Shota Morishita play.
The 24-year-old was a key piece of the Tigers 2023 championship team and his sophomore season was another indicator that the Tigers right fielder could be a dark horse MVP candidate for 2025. Morishita proved he could handle righties and lefties well while posting a solid ratios of 53 walks to 78 strikeouts.
Though his defense isn’t anything to write home about at the moment, and he isn’t a threat on the basepaths, I could see Morishita hitting 25-plus homers with a .300 AVG as he establishes himself as a premier hitter entering his prime.
2024 Stats: 368 PA, .290 AVG, .348 OBP, .564 SLG, 25 HR, 0 SB, 179 wRC+, 3.0 WAR
How can you not love the “Franimal?” Reyes, 29, spent six years in the Major leagues, mostly playing for the san Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians, posting two 30-plus homer campaigns and becoming a fan favorite in both cities. Reyes came to Hokkaido in 2024 hoping to prove he still had it.
After a slow start, Reyes kept acclimating himself to Japanese baseball, culminating in a second half for the ages, leading NPB in OPS (1.032) after the All-Star break and getting a 25-game hitting streak. Over a full season’s worth of at-bats, who knows how many homers he could have had.
Reyes thankfully re-signed with the Fighters and he tore up spring training. He has a non-impossible shot to be the first foreigner to hit 50-or-more homers since Alex Cabrera in 2002.
2024 Stats: .285 AVG, .365 OBP, .363 SLG, 6 HR, 19 SB, 125 wRC+, 4.6 WAR.
Finally, someone on this list that actually warrants having the stolen bases (SB) category on the 2024 stats list. But seriously, Koji Chikamoto is a five-tool stud that was my preferred pick to win 2023 CL MVP honours.
The “Chikamotor” is the ideal leadoff hitter: he hits for a high average, takes his walks, and puts the ball in play often. And though he is not much of a home run hitter, Chikamoto can rack up a lot of extra-base hits. Fun fact: Chikamoto hit 12 triples in 2023 through his sneaky pop and elite speed.
The four-time gold glove winner is now entering his age-30 season and it’s not hard to expect another great season atop the Tigers lineup.
2024 Stats: 610 PA, .244 AVG, .379 OBP, .472 SLG, 33 HR, 10 SB, 155 wRC+, 4.5 WAR
The 25-year-old superstar signed a three-year extension with the Yakult Swallows after the 2022 season that stipulated that he must be posted to Major League Baseball after the 2025 season. Back then, Murakami looked poised to be the most highly sought-after Japanese hitter ever after his record-breaking 2022 season, winning the Triple Crown after hitting .318/.458/.720 with 56 homers, breaking Sadaharu Oh’s record by most home runs in a season by a Japanese player in history.
But Murakami’s stock has fallen off since his unanimous MVP campaign. Red flags like Murakami’s sinking batting average (.300 AVG from 2020-22 /.250 AVG from 2023-24), a 30% increase in strikeouts coupled with the highest percentage of swing and misses in NPB, and perhaps most alarmingly of all, the inability to hit higher-velocity pitching (.160 AVG against 94+ mph pitches in 2023 and 2024).
Even at his lowest, Murakami is a top five NPB hitter, and the two-time CL MVP has everything to be one of the best sluggers on the planet, he is looking to prove it once again.
2024 Stats: 445 PA, .316 AVG, .382 OBP, .601 SLG, 25 HR, 0 SB, 202 wRC+, 5.2 WAR
Austin, 33, has spent his last five seasons in Yokohama after spending four years in MLB with four different organizations. Though he has never been healthy enough to get 450 PA in a season, Austin still has put up MVP-caliber seasons, especially in 2024. Austin was NPB’s best hitter by various stats and metrics, leading the BayStars lineup to the Japan Series pennant and capturing a batting title.
When on the field, Austin is a top three NPB hitter at minimum, it’s just a matter of him staying healthy enough to show it.
Before we dive into the top three here are some honourable mentions: C/1B Tomoya Mori (Injured), SS Rui Muneyama, C Shogo Sakakura, C Yuudai Yamamoto , OF Domingo Santana, 1B Leandro Cedeño, 3B Toshiro Miyazaki, 2B Naoki Yoshikawa
2024 Stats: 561 PA, .294 AVG, .346 OBP, .491 SLG, 23 HR, 11 SB, 157 wRC+, 4.4 WAR
An energetic ball of fire, Maki is one of the bulkiest second baseman you will find in Japan, and also the best. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound Nagano native has been a stud since being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NPB Draft by the Baystars. Maki has put up four straight seasons with 20-or-more homers and is a career .298 hitter.
Maki is best described as a free swinger, but he has always kept his strikeouts in check (10.5 K% in 2024) while hitting the ball hard over 40% of the time through line drives or big flies.
Though people have often suggested Maki should move to first base due to his physical build, the 26-year-old has showed he is nimble enough for the position and occasionally makes spectacular plays. He also became somewhat of a threat on the bases in 2024 after showing little interest in running previously.
Maki has emerged as the top second base option for Samurai Japan, and I expect him to solidify his starting role ahead of the 2026 WBC.
2024 Stats: .280 AVG, .362 OBP, .501 SLG, 27 HR, 1 SB, 160 wRC+, 5.0 WAR
A 10-year NPB veteran, Okamoto has been the model of consistency ever since he became a regular in the lineup seven years ago. The 28-year old posted six straight 30-plus home run campaigns before finally succumbing to the dead balls last year and hitting just 27 over the fence, good for third best in NPB.
Okamoto has been compared to Munetaka Murakami throughout his career, but the former has a much more stable approach, still hitting the ball hard with much less whiffs. Okamoto currently sported a 78.6 Contact% in 2024 compared to Murakami’s league worst 62.7%. Okamoto also offers a lot of positional versatility, capable of playing 3rd and left field besides first base, where he won a Golden Glove in 2024.
It is clear that Okamoto is ready for a new challenge in his career, and his WBC performance back in 2023 showed a glimpse of what we might see in a couple of years stateside. But for now, the first baseman is the captain of the reigning CL pennant winners and the Giants have a no-posting policy.
2024 Stats: 535 PA, .314 AVG, .439 OBP, .521 SLG, 19 HR, 11 SB, 198 wRC+, 7.9 WAR
Without a doubt the best player in NPB, the Hawks pulled off a coup by signing the 5-foot-7 Kondoh away from the Fighters, inking the largest deal ever signed by a NPB team. Turns out it was a bargain, as Kondoh could have matched or even surpassed the 9-figure contracts that Masataka Yoshida and Seiya Suzuki got from the Red Sox and Cubs respectively if he was on the open market today.
A trip to Driveline Baseball made Kondoh realize that his swing was too pushy and he was killing all of his potential power, relying solely on his supreme hand-eye talent. Kondoh started lifting the ball in Fukuoka and basically turned into Japanese Juan Soto, albeit with less power but much better defense.
Though I believe he deserved MVP honors over Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2023, Kondoh finally took home his much deserved hardware in 2024, dominating all facets of the game. Hawks manager Hiroki Kokubo has finally wised up in 2025 and decided to bat Kondoh seconnd instead of fifth moving forward. It’s hard to not see Kondoh as the heavy favorite to take PL MVP honors once again.
