Jun 28, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves logo in the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Former Arizona Second Baseman Working Way Up Braves Organization

Originally posted on Arizona Wildcats on SI
By Ari Koslow | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Former Arizona second baseman Kobe Kato has had quite the journey in the majors since being drafted in 2021.

College Career

Kato appeared in 21 games as a freshman back in 2019, hitting .250 with eight runs scored and seven walks drawn to just four strikeouts. He appeared in nine of 15 games the following year before the season was cut short.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2021, Kato took over the full-time starting role at second base for the Wildcats. He hit .350 that year with 58 runs scored, 34 RBI and 43 walks drawn to just 34 strikeouts. His .460 on-base percentage ranked No. 2 on the team and No. 4 in the Pac-12. He also finished among the top-10 in the conference in runs, hits, triples and batting average. Kato continued his momentum into the postseason, hitting .344 across eight games with 10 runs, two triples and six RBI. That included collecting hits in both games of the College World Series.

┏┓
┃┃╱╲ In this
┃╱╱╲╲ house
╱╱╭╮╲╲ we love
▔▏┗┛▕▔ & appreciate
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
Kobe Kato
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔ pic.twitter.com/v2bLsTObXF
— Arizona Baseball (@ArizonaBaseball) June 5, 2021

Professional Career

Kato went undrafted that summer before he signed with the Astros as a free agent.

He was assigned to Single-A Fayetteville, hitting .242 that year across the final 32 games of the season. He went 8-for-12 across six games in Single-A to open the 2023 season before he was promoted to Double-A Asheville. Kato hit .233 with 38 runs scored and 30 RBI the rest of the year with the Tourists.

Kato was released by the Astros. He played for the York Revolution in the Independent League for about three months following his release before he signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last year. He went just 2-for-27 at the plate with Double-A Arkansas, but crushed it in Triple-A Tacoma where he hit .356 with 16 runs scored across 59 at-bats over 16 games.

Welcome to Triple-A, Kobe Kato! His first Triple-A hit is this RBI single to give us the lead pic.twitter.com/bUd8kdTORJ
— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) July 24, 2024

This past November, Kato elected free agency before signing with the Braves a week and a half later. He has been in the Braves minor league system this year, playing for Double-A Columbus which was the new affiliate Atlanta debuted this year. He has gotten off to a slow start this year, hitting .177 with 15 stolen bases.

Across his major league career, Kato is hitting .237 with 99 runs scored, 77 RBI and 48 stolen bases.

This article first appeared on Arizona Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: