The Top 15 NPB Starting Pitchers for 2026

2025 stats

After spending last winter training at Driveline, Kota Tatsu broke out with a 152 ERA+ and a 22.5% strikeout rate across 107 ⅔ innings, finishing second in the Pacific League Rookie of the Year voting.

The former first-rounder leaned heavily on his fastball and splitter, which together accounted for more than 70% of his pitch usage. The splitter is a true platoon-neutral weapon and was the clear driver of his success with a 164 Stuff+. He was even comfortable locating it in the upper part of the zone more than 30% of the time, the highest rate among starters.

His sweeper, which sits around 80 mph, was also effective against right-handed hitters. He mixed in a cutter, sinker, curveball, changeup, and death-ball slider as well, leaving room to further diversify his arsenal.

His four-seam shape isn’t outstanding and didn’t get much swing-and-miss last year, but he spotted it well and limited damage. He will likely want to add a tick of velocity or increase his cutter/sinker usage moving forward.

Still just 21, Tatsu will be one of the most compelling arms to follow in 2026, especially within a Nipponham Fighters organization regarded as one of NPB’s premier pitching development systems.

14. Katsuki Azuma – LHP – Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Height/Weight: 5’7”, 176 | Bat/Throw: L/L | Draft: 1st Round, 2017 NPB | Age: 30

2025 stats

Injuries plagued the early part of Katsuki Azuma’s career, derailing the 2018 Central League Rookie of the Year for nearly half a decade. But he’s since settled back in as a workhorse, posting a sterling 2.11 ERA and eating up 515 ⅔ innings since 2023.

The southpaw isn’t very flashy, as he barely scrapes 90 mph, but he doesn’t have to be. He’s like the Japanese version of Framber Valdez, which is best exemplified by his 32 consecutive quality starts from August 2023 to September 2024.

The 30-year-old features solid command of a deep repertoire that interacts well and consistently generates weak contact. He recorded Location+ marks of 117 and 114 on his sinker and changeup, respectively, and carved up lefties with his high-70s sweeper.

One potential red flag is a K-BB rate that’s declined in consecutive seasons, which could become a problem if the ball becomes livelier. But he’s maintained an elite 30% CSW rate over that same span, thanks to his reliable ability to get called strikes, so he doesn’t necessarily need to rack up whiffs.

His upside is lower than most, but Azuma is always a safe bet to be a frontline starter.

13. Haruya Tanaka – RHP – Chiba Lotte Marines

Height/Weight: 6’1”, 203 | Bat/Throw: L/R | Draft: 3rd Round, 2022 NPB | Age: 21

2025 stats

Haruya Tanaka was load-managed last season and was effectively shut down after August 3, but he was a monster on a per-inning basis over 13 starts. The 21-year-old rookie posted a 2.82 FIP and 2.85 SIERA with a 24% strikeout rate and a 31% CSW rate.

He sat 93 mph on his heater from a high three-quarters slot and blew hitters away with a 48% whiff rate and 196 Stuff+ on his forkball. Given his immense success with primarily just a fastball and splitter, he can likely lean into being a two-pitch guy, but his cutter and slider were effective weapons in the minors and should help him put away more same-handed hitters going forward.

Continued gains in command, particularly a greater willingness to pitch high and inside, will further unlock Tanaka’s sky-high potential as a top-10 starter.

12. Kaima Taira – RHP – Saitama Seibu Lions

Height/Weight: 5’8”, 205 | Bat/Throw: L/R | Draft: 4th Round, 2017 NPB | Age: 26

2025 stats

Kaima Taira put up a career-high 31 saves last year, but will be stretched out to take Tatsuya Imai’s spot in the Seibu Lions rotation for 2026. That typically would be risky, but he’s already transitioned from a reliever to a starter back in 2023 (before team circumstances forced him back into the ‘pen), reducing the uncertainty relative to other players.

Taira utilizes his shorter height to his advantage by creating a very flat vertical approach angle, while his strong lower half propels him into an explosive delivery. He averaged 96 mph on his fastball and will comfortably sit in the 93-94 mph range as a starter.

Even while closing in 2025, he continued to exhibit a starter’s breadth, flashing as many as seven pitches, including a cutter, sinker, sweeper, slider, changeup, and splitter. The 26-year-old embodies the essence of a finesse pitcher, yet his raw stuff is good enough to overpower any lineup on his best days.

Health permitting, he looks every bit like a budding ace once again.

11. Haruto Takahashi – LHP – Hanshin Tigers

Height/Weight: 5’11”, 179 | Bat/Throw: L/L | Draft: 2nd Round, 2017 NPB | Age: 30

2025 stats

Haruto Takahashi has endured a brutal stretch of injuries, including Tommy John surgery (2022), shoulder surgery (2023), and ulnar surgery (2024). In Game 4 of the 2025 Japan Series, he exited after taking a comebacker off the arm.

At this point, injuries seem to find him no matter what. And yet, when he’s actually on the mound, the results are undeniable.

Since the start of 2024, he’s compiled a 1.97 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate and a staggering 68% groundball rate. That said, the sample is limited at just 73 innings, and he hasn’t even cleared 50 frames in a season since 2020.

The 30-year-old isn’t very dependent on velocity, finding success by living low in the zone on his four-seamer, sinker, and cutter. The sinker registered a laughable 215 Stuff+ in 2025.

His three fastballs combined to account for 84% of his pitch mix last year. The sweeper made up most of the remainder, proving effective both going away from left-handers and back-footing righties, producing a 36% putaway rate overall.

If healthy, Takahashi is a borderline top-five starter in NPB, but unlike fellow fragile ace Shunpeita Yamashita, he no longer has age on his side and is more likely to slowly trend downward.

10. Hiroto Takahashi – RHP – Chunichi Dragons

Height/Weight: 6’1”, 190 | Bat/Throw: R/R | Draft: 1st Round, 2020 NPB | Age: 23

2025 stats

After a historically dominant 2024 season (200 ERA+), Hiroto Takahashi slipped to a league-average starter in 2025 (99 ERA+). His K-BB rate fell frrom 17% to 13%.

His regression can be attributed to a combination of reduced fastball effectiveness, mechanical inefficiency, and natural home-run-to-fly-ball variance. That said, he reached a career-high with 171 ⅔ innings, and the broader picture remains positive.

Takahashi has a career 2.32 ERA and ranked second among qualified starters in average fastball velocity last year at 94.9 mph, trailing only Tatsuya Imai. He’s also been the youngest player on Samurai Japan’s roster in two straight World Baseball Classics at ages 20 and 23, respectively.

Plus, he effectively mitigated some of his four-seam deficiencies by increasing his cutter usage by six percent. It became a big weapon for him, especially against righties. His hard splitter/splinker, which sits around 89 mph and touches 93, remains a world-class pitch. It generated a 40% whiff rate while allowing minimal damage on contact.

The remaining hurdle is solving left-handed hitters, which is easier said than done, given his limited feel for spin. He struggled badly against them last season with a poor 24% CSW rate and 16% strikeout rate. Addressing that likely means experimenting with a heavier dose of four-seamers and sinkers at the bottom of the zone or chasing more velocity.

Takahashi regularly trains with Yoshinobu Yamamoto during the offseason and still has one of the highest ceilings of any Japanese starter.

9. Koki Kitayama – RHP – Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters

Height/Weight: 6’0”, 190 | Bat/Throw: R/R | Draft: 8th Round, 2021 NPB | Age: 26

2025 stats

Koki Kitayama broke out in 2024 with a 132 ERA+ and a 27% strikeout rate, albeit in just 81 ⅔ innings. He followed that by taking another leap forward over a full season, finishing with a 195 ERA+, the second-best mark in NPB among qualified starters, and even came within two outs of a no-hitter on June 19.

The 26-year-old averages north of 93 mph on his four-seamer. He really trusts it, especially versus lefties, frequently climbing the ladder to set up his other offerings. Those include a knuckle curve, a cutter he often uses to work back into counts, and a splitter that stands out as his best secondary, generating a strong 43% chase rate and a 31% whiff rate.

The primary concern with Kitayama remains his fringy command. He’s particularly struggled to limit free passes against right-handed hitters, carrying a career 11% walk rate. Moreover, his fastball posted just a 52% zone rate against righties last year, and he tends to live on the glove-side half of the plate.

Kitayama has the kind of stuff to punch out more than a quarter of batters and contend for a strikeout title, but that upside comes with a fair amount of volatility baked in.

8. Shoki Murakami – RHP – Hanshin Tigers

Height/Weight: 5’9”, 183 | Bat/Throw: L/R | Draft: 5th Round, 2020 NPB | Age: 27

2025 stats

Shoki Murakami, the 2023 Central League Rookie of the Year and MVP, is a master of pitch sequencing and changing speeds to keep guys off balance. Look no further than his comfort in flipping in a sub-55 mph eephus early in starts to toy with hitters.

He ranked second in NPB with 175 ⅓ frames last year and has maintained a minuscule 4% walk rate and 0.93 WHIP over the past three years.

The 27-year-old threw each of his secondaries (changeup, slider, cutter, sinker, curveball) more than 185 times last season, a testament to his confidence in a wide arsenal against batters of either handedness. His fastball only sits at 91 mph, but he spots it exceptionally well to both sides of the plate, reflected in a 120 Location+ on Bouno’s model.

He pairs it with a devastating split-change that actually plays better against same-handed hitters, generating an insane 57% whiff rate. Reintroducing a slower sweeper/slider last spring also helped him fix some reverse-splits issues that cropped up in 2024.

Murakami tossed three complete game shutouts in 2025 and has a unique ability to get creative and maintain strong ratios even on the third and fourth time through the order. He will continue to spearhead the Hanshin Tigers’ loaded rotation.

7. Chihiro Sumida – LHP – Saitama Seibu Lions

Height/Weight: 5’10”, 179 | Bat/Throw: L/L | Draft: 1st Round, 2021 NPB | Age: 26

2025 stats

After his disappointing 1-10 season as a rookie in 2022, many were quick to write off Chihiro Sumida as a first-round bust. But his underlying numbers have always looked solid, and he’s silenced the doubters by gradually improving his ERA and K-BB rate in three consecutive seasons.

In 2025, he posted a strong 2.59 ERA, 2.84 FIP, and a 17.8% K-BB rate, which ranked fifth among qualifiers. The 26-year-old has some Tsuyoshi Wada-esque qualities to him.

His changeup and splitter are arguably double-plus pitches, each carrying a fantastic 164 Stuff+ rating on Bouno’s model, allowing him to manage his splits well. While his mediocre fastball caps his ceiling to some extent, he pushed the velocity on it to a career-best 91.9 mph and hid it pretty well by consistently locating it at the bottom of the zone.

His low-70s curveball also comes in handy when behind in counts to sneak in called strikes. A low-to-mid 80s cutter, which he uses almost exclusively against lefties, rounds out his mix. Overall, he generated strike rates north of 63% on all five of his pitches.

Sumida has room to trim his fastball usage and further refine his pitch usage, but the floor of his game is already remarkably high.

6. Atsuki Taneichi – RHP – Chiba Lotte Marines

Height/Weight: 6’0”, 194 | Bat/Throw: R/R | Draft: 6th Round, 2016 NPB | Age: 27

2025 stats

More than three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Atsuki Taneichi was asked to take the Lotte Marines’ ace mantle from Roki Sasaki in 2025 but struggled in the early going. He carried an underwhelming 3.97 ERA through July 12 with one of the worst home run rates in NPB.

But he completely turned his fortunes around thereafter, rattling off 10 quality starts in his final 11 outings to finish the year. He led all qualifiers with a 33% strikeout rate in the second half, including a start on September 27 with an unbelievable 15 strikeouts and 42 swinging strikes. The late surge was even good enough to vault the 27-year-old onto Samurai Japan’s World Baseball Classic roster.

Taneichi credited the turnaround to raising his slot, which enhanced his arm action and four-seam shape. Greater confidence in the fastball had a domino effect on the rest of his arsenal, improving his ability to gain count leverage and allowing his high-80s splitter and mid-80s slider to play better as putaways.

Though he’s yet to put together a full season of elite surface-level results, Taneichi is poised for a career year should he continue his late 2025 trajectory.

5. Jon Duplantier – RHP – Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Height/Weight: 6’4”, 227 | Bat/Throw: L/R | Draft: 3rd Round, 2016 MLB | Age: 31

2025 stats

A former top prospect for the Diamondbacks and the older cousin of Andre and Jayden from the University of Texas, Jon Duplantier took Japan by storm in 2025.

The 31-year-old righty struck out over 32% of hitters against a 6% walk rate while posting a ridiculous 1.39 ERA in 15 starts. Simply put, he was the best starter in NPB on a per-inning basis.

His entire arsenal translated well to the Japanese game, built around a four-seamer that sat over 93 mph with good ride. His curveball, sweeper/slider, and changeup were all plus offerings, each producing CSW rates of 39% or higher. The low-80s knuckle curve was his best two-strike pitch, generating an obscene 52% whiff rate.

However, his offseason was oddly tumultuous. After Hanshin allowed him to walk, early winter reports linked him to SoftBank before that deal fell through, and DeNA eventually finalized a $3 million contract with Duplantier in January.

It’s unclear whether medicals contributed to Hanshin and SoftBank backing away, but this adds to already existing injury concerns. Duplantier missed the final two months of the 2025 regular season with a leg injury, looked rusty in his lone postseason start, and has not surpassed 105 innings in a season since 2017.

Still, Duplantier clearly has more than enough arm talent to replicate his 2025 dominance on a new team and parlay it into a return to MLB.

4. Hiroya Miyagi – LHP – ORIX Buffaloes

Height/Weight: 5’7”, 187 | Bat/Throw: L/L | Draft: 1st Round, 2019 NPB | Age: 24

2025 stats

Overshadowed by his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his formative years, Hiroya Miyagi’s plus command and advanced feel for spin have made him a bona fide star dating back to when he won the Pacific League Rookie of the Year in 2020.

In 2025, he led all qualified pitchers in CSW rate (32.2%), K-BB rate (22.0%), and SIERA (2.15) over a career-best 150 ⅓ innings. His surface results could have been even better if not for unfavorable batted ball luck and a subpar defense behind him.

Though Miyagi sits just a smidge below 91 mph on his heater, his deceptive crossfire delivery, low arm angle, and impeccable glove-side command of his fastball and sweeper have enabled him to consistently dominate hitters from both sides of the plate. Against lefties, his approach closely resembles Tatsuya Imai’s iconic fastball-slider combo, relying almost exclusively on two pitches.

The sweeper also works well against righties, mainly as a back-foot weapon, producing a 75% strike rate. The 24-year-old complements it by mixing in a splitter and changeup as chase pitches below the zone, which together account for roughly a quarter of his usage to the opposite hand.

With a very distinct east-west attack profile, Miyagi carries one of the highest floors in NPB.

3. Livan Moinelo – LHP – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Height/Weight: 5’10”, 152 | Bat/Throw: L/L | Signed: 2017 | Age: 30

2025 stats

Hailing from Cuba, Livan Moinelo has practically never experienced failure in his entire career. After establishing himself as one of Japan’s most electric relievers from 2017 to 2023, the 30-year-old was asked to convert to a starter in 2024 and has absolutely thrived as the SoftBank Hawks’ first real ace since Kodai Senga.

In 2025, he became the first Cuban-born MVP in NPB history, leading the competition in ERA (1.46) and ERA+ (210) across a career-high 167 innings, though he did have luck on his side with an absurd 90% left-on-base rate.

Moinelo flashed a particularly high peak during interleague play in June, recording historic 18 and 13-strikeout performances in back-to-back starts and posting a gaudy 37% strikeout rate for the month. Over the full season, he finished with a 27% strikeout rate against a 7% walk rate.

Moinelo features a straightforward yet dynamic pitch mix. Against right-handed hitters, he leans on a low-to-mid-90s fastball roughly 45% of the time, followed by a changeup at 18%, an ultra-depthy curveball that regularly exceeds 3,000 rpm at 17%, and a high-80s cutter at 15%. In particular, the changeup stood out with a 36% CSW rate.

Against lefties, the cutter is his go-to secondary, and he frequently relies on it when behind in counts. He also introduced a slurve-esque sweeper in the second half, which he used effectively in conjunction with the cutter and curve.

While the significant workload increase in consecutive seasons bears monitoring, Moinelo enters 2026 as the top southpaw in NPB. Additionally, he will be registered as a domestic Japanese player beginning in 2026 after reaching eight years of service time, further increasing his value on the roster.

2. Hiromi Itoh – RHP – Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters

Height/Weight: 5’9”, 185 | Bat/Throw: L/R | Draft: 1st Round, 2020 NPB | Age: 28

2025 stats

Hiromi Itoh is the definition of a workhorse, leading NPB in innings pitched since 2021 by a comfortable margin while deploying one of the deepest arsenals in the world. Last season, the 28-year-old became the first player to win the coveted Sawamura Award since Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

He posted a 2.52 ERA and 2.26 SIERA in 196 ⅔ frames, including six complete games, with an impressive 195:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a testament to his willingness to attack the zone.

His four-seam fastball ranges from 92-95 mph and produced one of the best run values in NPB last year, driven by elite induced vertical break and his ability to elevate the pitch effectively. It generated a 74% strike rate and 31% CSW last year, serving as a great foundation for his plethora of off-speed weapons.

None of his secondaries immediately jump out on their own, but he features at least three or four that can be labeled as above-average to plus, including a hard splitter, short slider, sweeper, and curveball. He shows subtle variations within each offering and also mixes in a cutter, sinker, kick change, and occasional sub-60 mph eephus, giving the right-hander a repertoire that spans 10 or more distinct shapes.

The Hokkaido native can be susceptible to the home run ball, which was magnified in 2025 by the hitter-friendly confines of Es Con Field, but his 46% groundball rate suggests his home run rate could come down with better fly ball luck.

Itoh’s sound mechanics, command, ability to mix and match, and capacity to consistently work deep into games draw many stylistic comparisons to Yu Darvish. He will be a key part of Japan’s World Baseball Classic rotation and could make the move stateside as early as 2027 or 2028.

1. Shunpeita Yamashita – RHP – ORIX Buffaloes

Height/Weight: 6’3”, 220 | Bat/Throw: R/R | Draft: 1st Round, 2020 NPB | Age: 23

2025 stats

A 6-foot-3, 220-pound right-hander, Shunpeita Yamashita has a striking resemblance to a young Shohei Ohtani on the bump and is widely regarded as the highest-upside Japanese arm since the so-called “Monster of the Reiwa Era,” Roki Sasaki.

In parts of three NPB seasons, he’s registered a 2.19 ERA and 2.54 FIP with 215 strikeouts across 185 ⅔ innings. The 2023 Pacific League Rookie of the Year was limited to four regular season starts in 2025 due to a lingering lower-back injury, but was dominant in that small sample, striking out a whopping 36% of opposing hitters while posting a 33% CSW rate.

Yamashita’s vertically-oriented power fastball sets him apart from other NPB starters. The pitch averages 97 mph and routinely touches 99 mph.

It pairs with two elite secondaries in a mid-80s splitter and a high-70s curveball that has reached spin rates near 2,900 RPM. He deploys the curveball both early and late in counts, locating it in the strike zone 54% of the time while generating groundballs at a 58% rate.

The splitter is his primary swing-and-miss weapon, producing elite whiff and chase rates by consistently drawing uncompetitive swings below the zone. He’s also experimented with a changeup, though he’s rarely thrown it in games. He has room to get even better with more comfort in it, or the addition of a horizontal pitch.

Serious health and workload concerns aside, the 23-year-old’s only shortcoming lies in his command, which is a 45 or 50 grade at best and has been highly inconsistent at times. The flamethrower struggled so badly with it in the first half of 2024 that he was temporarily demoted to the bullpen.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see his walk rate creep back over 10%, but the sheer quality of his raw stuff will continue to overwhelm NPB hitters. If his durability improves, Yamashita profiles as a future frontline starter at the major league level.

Other Names To Watch

Yutaro Ishida – RHP – Yokohama DeNA BayStars: Despite an underwhelming 3.73 career ERA, Ishida’s elite 2.22 SIERA and 26% strikeout rate last season highlight his true talent. Driven by deception from a low sidearm slot and a fastball–sweeper combo that obliterates right-handed hitters, the 24-year-old is one adjustment away from a breakout.

Iori Yamasaki – RHP – Yomiuri Giants: Yamasaki took a huge step forward in 2025 after reworking his splitter into a harder “splinker” shape that helped him get to a gaudy 55% groundball rate. Even baking in regression, the 27-year-old still projects as a top-end rotation arm.

Ryuhei Sotani – LHP – ORIX Buffaloes: Sotani’s 4.01 ERA put a cloud over much better underlying numbers (2.93 FIP, 2.93 SIERA), as poor batted ball luck and defense inflated his surface-level stats. The 25-year-old needs another pitch to combat righties, but he will continue to dominate lefties with his low-to-mid 90s fastball and sharp sweeper.

Yumeto Kanemaru – LHP – Chunichi Dragons: One of the most decorated amateur pitching prospects in recent memory, Kanemaru delivered a strong rookie season built on solid command and a good fastball–spliter foundation. With gains in his other secondaries and more experience, the 22-year-old southpaw carries legitimate ace upside.

Haruto Inoue – LHP – Yomiuri Giants: Inoue wasn’t able to keep the home run ball in check last year, but he finished top 10 in K-BB rate (17.9%) among pitchers with at least 75 innings. Take away the batted ball noise, and the 24-year-old looks like one of the best lefties in the nation.

Ruei-Yang Gu Lin – RHP – Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters: Gu Lin, the 2024 Chinese Professional Baseball League MVP, showcased his potential with a double-digit strikeout performance followed by a complete game shutout in early May before an oblique injury sidelined him until September. Durability is a concern, but the 25-year-old has the swing-and-miss stuff to become an impactful NPB starter.

Haru Matsumoto – LHP – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: Matsumoto quietly broke out in 2025, posting a 2.57 SIERA with a 24% strikeout rate across multiple roles. He has excellent strike-throwing ability with his fastball and slider. If he can find greater consistency with his changeup, the 24-year-old has a clear path to establishing himself as No. 2 behind Livan Moinelo.

Jo-Hsi Hsu – RHP – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks: Hsu dominated in the CPBL and signed a three-year deal worth nearly $10 million with SoftBank via the posting system. The 25-year-old will have to be load-managed, but his high-ride fastball can touch 98 mph, and his split-change is nasty.

Forrest Whitley – RHP – Yomiuri Giants: A former Astros first-round pick, Whitley enters his debut season in Japan with plenty to prove, but his raw talent is undeniable. If he manages to stay healthy, his mid-90s fastball and multiple plus secondaries, including a cutter, curveball, and slurve, will almost certainly translate to the NPB level.

Kosei Shoji – RHP – Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles: When Shoji is on, he looks like an ace with one of the league’s best splitters. But command issues have led to significant inconsistency through his first three pro seasons.

Hiroto Saiki – RHP – Hanshin Tigers: Saiki has posted a sub-2.00 ERA in four consecutive seasons and even silenced the Dodgers with five shutout innings in Tokyo last spring. The 27-year-old also features insane spin rates on his fastball, but his relatively one-dimensional attack and less impressive underlying metrics suggest some reason for caution beneath the results.