Shō Kusaka

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Shō Kusaka
草加勝
Chunichi Dragons – No. 14
Starting pitcher
Born: (2001-11-21) November 21, 2001 (age 22)
Wake, Okayama, Japan
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Teams

Shō Kusaka (草加 勝, Kusaka Shō, born November 21, 2001) is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons.

Kusaka was the first-round draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons in the 2023 Nippon Professional Baseball draft.

Early career[edit]

Kusaka started playing baseball from year while at Wake Municipal Fujino Elementary School. At Wake Municipal Middle school, he played for a rubber-ball team.[1]

He would enter Sōshi Gakuen Senior High School, and make the bench in his sophomore year.[1] While his team would make it to the 100th anniversary Koshien tournament that year, Kusaka was unable to make an appearance. In summer of his senior year, his school would lose out to Kurashiki Commercial Senior High in the semi-finals of the Okayama Prefectural Tournament.[2] Kusaka's fastest speed at this point was 146 km/h, but his teammate from the same grade, Junya Nishi, was the absolute ace. As a result, Kusaka never pitched in an official summer game during his three years in high school. [3][4]

After graduating high school, Kusaka would enter Asia University. Until spring of his sophomore year, he had only one league appearance to his name, but in fall of his senior year he was given more opportunities to pitch where he posted a 0.29 ERA receiving a valuable player award.[4] In July 2023, Kusaka was selected for the USA VS Japan Collegiate All-Star Series[5] while in fall of the same year, he threw a personal best high velocity of 153km/h.[6] On 28 September, he submitted his intention to turn pro with NPB.[7]

On 26 October at the 2023 Nippon Professional Baseball draft, Kusaka was selected in the first round by the Chunichi Dragons and Chiba Lotte Marines after each team had missed out on Ryūki Watarai, with the Dragons prevailing in the lottery.[8][9] On 14 November, he signed a ¥16,000,000 per year deal with a ¥100,000,000 sign-on bonus with ¥50,000,000 in incentives.[10] On 14 December he was officially unveiled with the other 2023 draftees being presented with the 14 previously worn by former team aces Shinji Imanaka and Eiji Bandō. [11]

Professional career[edit]

On 16 January 2024, it was reported that Kusaka had a ulnar collateral ligament sprain preventing him from throwing.[12][13] On 30 January, it was confirmed that Kusaka would undergo Tommy John surgery ruling him out of the 2024 season.[14][15]

Pitching Style[edit]

Kusaka throws a fastball that tops out at 153km/h.[12][13] He also throws a two-seamer, curveball and slider having the most confidence in the former two.[16][13]

Personal[edit]

Kusaka, idolizes former Chunichi Dragons ace, manager and fellow Okayama native Senichi Hoshino for his fighting spirit,[17] aspires to master a 'fireball fastball' akin to Kyuji Fujikawa,[17] and expresses admiration for Yoshinobu Yamamoto from a neighboring city, aspiring to follow in his footsteps.[9]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "草加勝" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  2. ^ "創志学園・西、最速１５４キロも夏終わった「自分らしい投球、良かった」／岡山". Sankei Sports (in Japanese). 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  3. ^ "「夏は西だけでは勝てない」―創志学園の"2番手"、146キロ右腕の決意と可能性" (in Japanese). 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  4. ^ a b "高校時代は西純矢の控え投手…亜細亜大・草加勝がドラフト戦線に急浮上！ ｜ BASEBALL KING" (in Japanese). 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  5. ^ NPBエンタープライズ. "第44回 日米大学野球選手権大会 試合・大会詳細" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  6. ^ "亜大のドラフト候補・草加勝が自己最速更新の153キロも「負けたら意味がない」鈴木一央監督の初陣飾れず ｜ BASEBALL KING" (in Japanese). 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  7. ^ Muramatsu, Mariko. "大学日本代表の最速153キロ右腕、亜大・草加勝ら大学生６人、高校生２人がプロ志望届 - アマ野球 : 日刊スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  8. ^ "【中日ドラゴンズ】 1位で亜細亜大の右腕草加勝を指名、上位で社会人・大学の即戦力内野手を獲得｜ プロ野球 ｜ ドラフト名鑑2023（DAZN News）" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  9. ^ a b 日本放送協会. "岡山発 中日ドラフト1位・和気町初のプロ野球選手 草加勝 投手" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  10. ^ "中日が1位指名の亜大・草加勝と仮契約「1年目からローテに入れるよう頑張る」契約金1億円、年俸1600万円：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  11. ^ "【中日】ドラフト1位の草加勝『縁起がいい』背番号「14」に「草加だと認知されるぐらいの番号に」とギラリ：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  12. ^ a b "中日ドラ1草加勝が右肘靭帯を損傷 新人合同自主トレ中に違和感…球団発表（Full-Count）" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  13. ^ a b c "中日ドラフト1位・草加勝「右肘内側側副靱帯損傷」の診断…期待の右腕、15日に"違和感"で新人合同自主トレを切り上げる（中日スポーツ）" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  14. ^ "中日ドラフト1位ルーキー草加勝がトミー・ジョン手術へ 復帰まで約１年：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  15. ^ "【中日】ドラフト１位・草加勝が２月１日にトミー・ジョン手術 復帰まで１年以上 来季後半戦以降の完全復活目指す" (in Japanese). 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. ^ "秘伝「亜細亜ツーシーム」！？中日ドラ1・草加勝投手の決め球の秘密とは（CBCテレビ）". CBC News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  17. ^ a b "中日ドラフト1位・草加勝、『闘魂』と『火の玉ストレート』兼ね備える！星野仙一さんと藤川球児さんに感銘：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-14.
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