Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

27-Year-Old PitcherSP
Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 Fantasy Outlook
The Japanese right-hander's MLB career got off to a rocky start as he surrendered five runs in one frame during his debut against the Padres, but he posted a 2.34 ERA in his next 13 starts before landing on the injured list with a rotator cuff strain. Yamamoto returned down the stretch for eight starts between the regular season and playoffs, during which he had a 3.64 ERA to help the Dodgers win the World Series. He had a 105:22 K:BB across 90 innings during the regular season, so the skills of a low-end SP1 are there, he just hasn't shown that he can log SP1-caliber innings yet. He is likely to open 2025 as the Dodgers' ace since Shohei Ohtani's left shoulder surgery will delay his return to the mound, and Yamamoto's strikeout ability and potential for wins will once again make him a hot commodity come draft day. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#67
ADP
Signed a six-year, $155 million contract with the Dodgers in December of 2023. Contract includes two-year, $58 million player option for 2030 and 2031 seasons. Contract includes four-year, $112 million player option for 2032 through 2035 seasons. Contract includes $10 million team option for 2036 if Yamamoto suffers an elbow injury between the 2024 and 2029 seasons.
Goes distance in Game 2
PLos Angeles Dodgers
October 14, 2025
Yamamoto picked up the win Tuesday against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS, giving up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out seven batters over nine innings.
Analysis
Jackson Chourio sent Yamamoto's first pitch over the right-field wall to give Milwaukee a quick 1-0 lead. That would prove to be the only mistake the 27-year-old right-hander made Tuesday, as he allowed just three men to reach base for the rest of the game while recording all 27 outs by himself on only 111 pitches. The earliest that Yamamoto could potentially be called upon to make his next start would be Game 6, but that may not be necessary with the Dodgers already up two games to none as the series moves to Los Angeles.
Read More News
Pitching Stats
Loading Pitching Stats...
2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2024
2025 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2024 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Pitching Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
93
Last 10 Games
99
Last 5 Games
99
How many pitches does Yoshinobu Yamamoto generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Yoshinobu Yamamoto generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-17%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-9%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-27%
BAA vs LHP
2023
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .180 510 147 38 84 15 1 6
Since 2023vs Right .217 542 159 43 107 26 1 15
2025vs Left .174 331 96 23 53 11 0 4
2025vs Right .191 353 105 36 60 9 0 10
2024vs Left .193 179 51 15 31 4 1 2
2024vs Right .263 189 54 7 47 17 1 5
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-38%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-30%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-47%
ERA on Road
2023
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 3.38 1.15 114.1 6 5 0 10.9 2.8 0.9
Since 2023Away 2.11 0.94 149.1 13 5 0 10.1 2.7 0.5
2025Home 3.04 1.15 68.0 3 4 0 11.0 3.6 0.9
2025Away 2.13 0.89 105.2 9 4 0 10.1 2.7 0.6
2024Home 3.88 1.17 46.1 3 1 0 10.7 1.7 1.0
2024Away 2.06 1.05 43.2 4 1 0 10.3 2.7 0.4
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Yoshinobu Yamamoto compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.41
 
K/9
10.4
 
BB/9
3.1
 
HR/9
0.7
 
Fastball
96.0 mph
 
ERA
2.49
 
WHIP
0.99
 
BABIP
.255
 
GB/FB
2.00
 
Left On Base
78.1%
 
Exit Velocity
81.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.8%
 
Spin Rate
2181 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
23.8%
 
Swinging Strike
12.9%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto See More
2024 Fantasy Outlook
For the third consecutive year, Yamamoto won the Eiji Sawamura Award, Japan's equivalent of the Cy Young. He did it in 2023 on the strength of a 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings spanning 24 appearances, including a no-hitter in front of notable MLB executives in September. The Orix Buffaloes posted the right-hander for MLB teams this winter and an unprecedented bidding war ensued, with Yamamoto ultimately signing with the Dodgers for 12 years and $325 million, the largest contract ever for a pitcher. Still just 25 years old, Yamamoto features a mid-90s fastball and three secondary pitches highlighted by the splitter, all helped immensely by exceptional command. There is already considerable hype and that may be boosted slightly by recency bias after Kodai Senga made the transition to the majors look easy last season. Yamamoto could enter SP1 range in drafts come springtime.
More Fantasy News
Expected to get ball in Game 2
PLos Angeles Dodgers
October 12, 2025
Yamamoto is set to draw the start in Game 2 of the NLCS versus the Brewers on Tuesday, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Stumbles in fourth inning
PLos Angeles Dodgers
October 9, 2025
Yamamoto (1-1) was charged with a loss Wednesday versus the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLDS, yielding three runs on six hits and one walk over four-plus innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Secures series win
PLos Angeles Dodgers
October 1, 2025
Yamamoto earned the win over the Reds on Wednesday in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series. He was charged with two unearned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out nine over 6.2 innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Getting nod in Game 2
PLos Angeles Dodgers
September 29, 2025
Yamamoto will start Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Reds on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Ends regular season on high note
PLos Angeles Dodgers
September 25, 2025
Yamamoto (12-8) earned the win against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven across six scoreless innings.
Analysis
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Won't pitch in All-Star Game
PLos Angeles Dodgers
July 9, 2025
Yamamoto won't pitch in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
Yamamoto is slated to pitch against the Giants over the weekend, meaning he won't be eligible to pitch in the Midsummer Classic due to logistical reasons. The Japanese hurler owns a 3.64 ERA and a 32:11 K:BB across 29.2 innings across his last six starts. His place in the All-Star Game was taken by the Reds' Andrew Abbott, who was selected to the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career.
See All MLB Rumors