Kōki Saitō

Kōki Saitō
齋藤綱記
Chunichi Dragons – No. 59
Pitcher
Born: (1996-12-18) December 18, 1996 (age 28)
Kita-ku,Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
NPB debut
18 September 2016, for the Chunichi Dragons
NPB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record4-1
Innings pitched75
Earned run average4.56
Strikeouts72
Teams

Kōki Saitō (齋藤綱記, Saitō Kōki, born December 18, 1996) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons. He previously played for the Orix Buffaloes and the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

Professional career

Starting his career at the Orix Buffaloes, Saitō was traded to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters for catcher, Ryō Ishikawa of the Orix Buffaloes.[1] Less than a year later, Saitō would be involved in a trade alongside Shingo Usami for Yūya Gunji and Takumi Yamamoto of the Chunichi Dragons.[2]

Pitching style

Saitō's fastball tops out at 144 km/h. His normal pitch mix includes a vertical and horizontal moving slider, a curveball, a changeup and a splitter.[3] In 2017, he switched to a side-throwing action with the addition of fellow lefty, Daiki Tajima in the first round of the draft, adding more spin to his slider and improving hitting his spots inside.[4] On being traded to the Dragons, under the tutelage of Akinori Otsuka, Saito switched to a three-quarter delivery increasing his velocity and whiff rate with his slider.[5]

References

  1. ^ INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (2022-11-10). "日本ハム・石川亮との交換トレードが成立したオリックス・斎藤綱記は「新天地で活躍することが」「両球団への恩返し」" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  2. ^ "日本ハムと中日が交換トレード正式発表 宇佐見＆齋藤綱、郡司＆山本…齋藤綱は1年で2度の移籍" (in Japanese). 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  3. ^ "北照・斎藤プロ１本「指名だけ考えてる」 - 高校野球ニュース" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  4. ^ "オリックス斎藤「記憶に残る」地元札幌でプロ初勝利 - プロ野球 : 日刊スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  5. ^ "「ラストチャンス」でフォーム改造ハマった 輝き放つ中日の斎藤綱記 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 野球" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-29.