The winner of World Baseball Network’s International Player of the Week is Yomiuri Giants right-handed pitcher Iori Yamasaki of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Yamasaki, 25, won his 10th game of the season in a 4-2 win against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on October 2. The pitching line for Yamasaki was 6 1/3 innings, five hits, two runs, four strikeouts, and two walks.
His numbers this season are 147 1/3 innings, 103 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.81. Yamasaki has had a solid season and was named to his first NPB All-Star team. He made his NPB debut with the Yomiuri Giants in 2022 and has spent his entire three-year career with them. His career numbers are 393.2 innings, 264 strikeouts, and a 2.86 ERA.
Yamasaki is one of the three pitchers on the Yomiuri Giants to win ten games this season and that’s the first time they’ve had that happen since 2017. All of the pitchers to win ten games are also right-handed and that hasn’t happened for the Yomiuri Giants since 1997. Their strong pitching staff helped lead them to a 77-59 record, which earned them the top seed in the Central League in the NPB Postseason.
Yomiuri Giants Pitching Notes – Right-handed pitcher Shosei Togo led the Giants with 156 strikeouts and 180 innings this season. Togo, 24, pitched a no-hitter this season, won 12 games, and had an ERA of 1.95. He has spent his whole career with the Yomiuri Giants and has been an NPB All-Star in four straight seasons. His numbers in six years with the Yomiuri Giants are 789.2 innings, 706 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.75.
In 2023, Togo helped lead Team Japan to a 3-2 win in the gold medal game against Team USA in the World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida. He pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts in that decisive win for Japan.
Veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano is the most accomplished pitcher on the Giants’ staff and led them with 15 wins and had their lowest starting pitching ERA of 1.67. Sugano, 34, made his NPB debut with the Giants in 2013 and has spent 12 seasons with them. Sugano is an eight-time NPB All-Star, two-time Central League MVP winner, 2018 Japanese Pitching Triple Crown winner, and he threw a no-hitter that same season. Sugano’s career NPB numbers are 1,857 innings, 1,585 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.43.
