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.
| Kōki Saitō 齋藤綱記 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chunichi Dragons – No. 59 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: December 18, 1996 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 record | 4-1 |
| Innings pitched | 75 |
| Earned run average | 4.56 |
| Strikeouts | 72 |
| Teams | |
| |
Professional career edit
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 edit
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 edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "「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.