Kota Tatsu, Misho Nishikawa, Rui Muneyama, Seiya Watanabe… Who will win Pacific League Rookie of the Year award? | Pacific League

With many players performing well, the race for Rookie of the Year this season is attracting attention.

With the 2025 regular season now over, the winners of many individual titles have been determined. However, the outcome of the Rookie of the Year award, which is selected by voting, remains uncertain due to the fact that many players showed great performance throughout the season.

This time, we will be looking at pitcher and fielder who have achieved good results from among the players eligible for Pacific League. We will take a look back at the performance of each player and introduce in more detail the players who could be at the center of the title race.

Led by Kota Tatsu, many pitcher showed good performances with ERA or below.

Among pitcher eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in Pacific League in 2025, pitcher who have achieved particularly outstanding results and pitcher performance are listed below.

pitcher candidates for Pacific League Rookie of the Year award in the 2025 season ©PLM

　Kota Tatsu pitcher started three games in both May and June, and showed good pitching with ERA 0 points, achieving six consecutive victories unscathed from the opening. He set a new professional baseball record of 7 consecutive wins in all starts since entering the pros, and showed a sensational performance that led the team’s breakthrough.

After July, the pace of winning stars was sluggish, but in August, the monthly ERA was 3.26 with a strike out rate of 9.31, and in September, the monthly ERA was 2.00 with 2 wins, including shutout game, and he pitched well in the final game. In the end, he pitched 107.2 inning to win eight games, with a ERA of 2.09 and a K/BB of 4.70. At the young age of 21, he pitched confidently and left a big impact.

　Haruto Yamada pitcher has not appeared in the first team for the past two years, but since his first team debut in April this year, he has established himself in the bullpen corner. As of the end of July, he appeared in 29 games and earned runs was only 1, and ERA was an overwhelming pitch with a 0.30, and he was one of the supporters of the team’s strong form in the first half.

Although his form dropped slightly after August, he eventually appeared in 49 games, recording 20 hold points and 1 save, and recorded an excellent ERA of 2.08. He made a big leap forward in his third year of high school graduation and showed a full-rotation performance as the main force of the relief team, repeatedly pitching in a wide range of situations.

　Haru Matsumoto pitcher started the season as a reliever, and since the opening, they have been runs-free in 12 consecutive games, demonstrating an outstanding sense of stability. After the game on May 21st, he was reassigned to the starting lineup, and he continued to pitch as a part of the starting rotation until he lost form in September, contributing to the team’s league championship. ERA 2.76, strike out rate 9.07, K/BB 4.00, etc., showed flexibility regardless of position.

　Shuta Takano pitcher switched from long relief to set-up midway through the season, scoring 20 hold points and showing outstanding pitch with a ERA of 1.84, a strike out rate of 10.23, and a K/BB of 4.36. Taisei Yanagawa pitcher only appeared in 37 games due to injury, but he contributed to the team’s strong progress as a closer with a dominant pitch with a ERA of 1.02 and a strike out percentage of 10.95 with 11 saves in 7 hold.

In addition to the three rookies, catcher in his second year after graduating from high school also reached the required number of at-bats in this bumper year.

Next, we will look at the players who have performed well among fielder eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in Pacific League in 2025, and their achievements.

2025 Pacific League fielder of the Year candidates ©PLM

​Rui Muneyama, who entered the professional ranks after competing with five teams as the centerpiece of last year’s draft, lived up to high expectations and won the opening starting line-up spot, and has struggled as a mainstay since then. He played in 122 games, the most among Pacific League rookies, and supported the team that competed for Class A until the final stage.

In the end, he reached the required at-bat and recorded 112 hit, recording a batting average of .260. While serving as the short stop, which is a heavy burden on defense, it is noteworthy that he accompanied the first team throughout the year while leaving a batting record above a certain level, and showed a presence that was no different from the high reputation of the previous one in both offense and defense.

　Misho Nishikawa Although the player struggled in the early game, he recorded a high average for three consecutive months, with a monthly batting average of .441 in June, .303 in July, and .344 in August. In the final game of the season, he reached the required at-bat and hit 117 hit, the most for a rookie, and left a good record of .281, which is 6th in the league.

In addition, as shown by the fact that he recorded a league-leading 27 doble, it is not to be overlooked that he has been mass-producing long hits by hitting strong balls in the opposite direction since his first year as a professional. outfield defense also recorded a league-leading 9 kills, and it can be said that he recorded a number that was far from the rookie both offense and defense.

　Seiya Watanabe The player had an overwhelming performance in the early stages with a monthly batting average of .455 in March and .431 in April, but due to the influence of two breakdowns, his form has dropped significantly since May. Still, he had a monthly batting average of .301 in September and .333 in October, and was regaining his original batting in the final stages of the season.

In the end, he reached the required at-bat and recorded a batting average of .259, hitting 12 Home Run, the most for a rookie. As the number of Home Run recorded by Soyama and Nishikawa was 3 each, it is noteworthy that he demonstrated his slugging power that was one of the best among rookies in a situation where the tendency of pitching high and low hitting was intensifying in the entire baseball world.

In addition to the three new players who made an impact, Ryusei Terachi, a second-year high school graduate, also made a big leap forward. This season, he entered the opening team and showed outstanding hitting with a monthly batting average of .344 in April, securing the starting catcher position. After the exchange match period, he became established in the top batting line and became a leading figure in the batting line.

After September, he was mainly used as a DH, but he finally reached the required at-bat and hit 106 hit, recording a batting average of .256 and a certain number. At the young age of 20, he played in 77 games, the most for the team as a catcher, and showed an active performance in batting despite the heavy burden of defense, which is a highly rare factor.

Who will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the highly competitive Rookie of the Year competition?

Among pitcher, pitcher, who showed dominance with eight wins and pitch 2.09 ERA, is a likely candidate for Rookie of the Year. Among fielder, there are three players with different appealing points: Muneyama, who has consistently made his presence felt on both offense and defense as short stop; Nishikawa, who had the highest hit average and number of hits in the league among those eligible for Rookie of the Year; and Watanabe Satoshi, who hit the most home Home Run of any rookie with 12.

This season’s Rookie of the Year competition is a high-level affair, with many players, including pitcher and Terachi, all of whom would have been no surprise to win the title in a different season. We look forward to seeing who will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime chance in their professional baseball career and win the Rookie of the Year title.

Written by Ryota Mochizuki