Here are my updated NPB starting pitcher rankings as of April 7, 2025. Click here to skip to the complete list and skip the write-ups. These are essentially rest-of-season rankings, not power rankings. In other words, I’m ranking pitchers based on where I believe they truly belong moving forward, not just on season-to-date results. Recent performance is a major factor, but track record, underlying metrics, and overall stuff carry more weight to project the future.
The following are some players who are rising relative to their preseason evaluation and should be monitored.
- Tatsuya Imai
- Tinkering with delivery and mechanics, looking more relaxed while “gas-pedaling” (fastball ranging from 90-98 mph, seemingly deliberately)
- Zoning pitches for strikes at a much higher rate
- Changeup, splitter, and curve usage up to lefties will help neutralize splits
- Shoki Murakami
- Just 1 ER in 15.2 IP with 13 strikeouts and one walk; back in 2023 MVP form?
- New slow slider is a game-changer, allowing cutter usage to be shed to righties
- Challenging and getting whiffs in the zone
Notice the cutter usage being cut in half.
- Yasunobu Okugawa
- Velo is up a few ticks (!)
- Splitter usage was up at 27% in first start but fell back down to 12% in second start (more is better)
- There’s still going to be growing pains, but the stuff looks much better than 2024
- Haruya Tanaka
- Four-seam sat 93+ mph in first start
- Splitter and slider should BOTH play; the latter has a gyro and harder cut shape variant
- Shohei Mori
- Mixes speeds effectively, soft contact merchant
- Three fastballs that can all be zoned for strikes
- Slider/sweeper usage is up
Notice how he avoids the heart of the plate effectively and paints the corners.
The following are some players who are falling relative to their preseason evaluation and should be monitored.
- Takahisa Hayakawa
- Groundball rate is closer to 2022-2023; home runs may become an issue again with livelier balls
- Increased changeup usage is a good sign
- Shosei Togo
- Four-seam velo continues to decline for another year
- Like Hayakawa, the long ball will likely be a bigger problem this season
- Played around with a cutter in spring but has yet to showcase it
- Kojiro Yoshimura
- Fastball down a tick in first start
- 7 R (4 ER) allowed with zero strikeouts, knocked out after just 12 batters
- Kohei Arihara
- 13 ER allowed in 10.1 IP with an abysmal 8.2 K%
- There’s been some bad luck, but he’s been downright unplayable
The following players are newcomers who were not ranked in the preseason.
- Jon Duplantier
- 33.1 K% with Triple-A Oklahoma City last year
- Four-seam is sitting 95 mph, cutter is 91
- Slider had a 71 Whiff% in first start (!)
- Tatsuya Ishikawa
- Released by DeNA last year (only 16.8 K% as a reliever)
- Changeup/split-change will play, near-identical release with fastball
- Needs to hide the four-seam; the new screwball will help
- Jun Maeda
- Four-seam reportedly averages over 20.5 inches of IVB (!)
- If he commands it well, it will play despite sitting in the high 80s
- Taichi Yamano
- It comes down to just how effective the sweeper/cutter combo can be
- Needs to lower the four-seam usage slightly
- Taito Takashima
- Solid three fastballs; sinker usage to lefties is way up
- Can get grounders but needs a better breaking ball as a putaway
- Tomida Ren
- 0.76 ERA as a reliever last year
- Sachiya Yamasaki type with above-average location and a deeper mix
- Takahiro Matsuba
- Below-average stuff across the board, but can be playable at times by mixing speeds
- Yudai Ohno
- Unfortunately, his best days are long gone
- Needs to lower the four-seam usage significantly
- Hirotoshi Takanashi
- It’s all about the fastball-splitter combo, everything else is just noise
- The surface-level numbers may not show it, but there’s some underrated swing-and-miss stuff to tap into
- Taiga Ueda
- Fly ball profile without enough swing-and-miss, better in long relief
- Cutter is solid
- Wataru Karashima
- Over 1K career innings, so he “knows how to pitch”
- The stuff is simply not NPB-caliber anymore
This list only includes pitchers who have made at least one NPB start so far in 2025. Those who are yet to debut due to an injury, spending time on the farm, or currently being used as a reliever are not included, though notable names will be mentioned below.
- Shunpeita Yamashita (Projected Rank If Healthy: 3-5)
- Pulled from a spring start for precautionary reasons with back tightness flare-up
- Foster Griffin (5-10)
- Delayed start to season due to fever, expected to make 2025 debut this week
- Haruto Takahashi (15-20)
- Ramping up after getting a follow-up procedure to remove a plate from his arm
- Yumeto Kanemaru (20-30)
- Expected to make NPB debut by May
- Natsuki Takeuchi (20-30)
- Rehabbing an elbow injury
- Ryosuke Ohtsu (20-30)
- Pitching on farm, waiting to be reintegrated into NPB rotation
- Yuto Nakamura (20-30)
- Yet to make pro debut
- Carter Stewart Jr. (30-40)
- Rehabbing an abdominal injury
- Ruei Yang Gu-Lin (30-40)
- Yet to make NPB debut
- Koutaro Ohtake (50-60)
- Rehabbing a leg injury
- Yuhi Nishidate (50-60)
- Stretching out on the farm to become a starter
All 69 pitchers who have made at least one start in NPB this season, ranked. Since the preseason list featured 89 pitchers, the “Change” column reflects each player’s movement based on their percentile rank and indicates whether they truly moved up or down in relative standing.
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