CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #303
TSG Hawks News: Shōtarō Kasahara
On November 27, Full-Count reported that the TSG Hawks have signed 28-year-old Japanese left-hander Shōtarō Kasahara (笠原祥太郎) as foreign pitcher for the 2024 CPBL season.
According to the article, despite receiving multiple offers from Japanese teams, after reviewing, Shōtarō Kasahara ultimately decided to accept the TSG Hawks’ invitation and come to Taiwan to pursue a career in the CPBL.
“I don’t know why I chose Taiwan as I really dislike going to unfamiliar places, but I feel very excited about this,” Shōtarō Kasahara told Full-Count. “My wife has been very supportive in this matter, saying it is a rare experience and that I should go for it.”
The TSG Hawks later confirmed the signing of Shōtarō Kasahara and revealed that he will report to the team around January. The Hawks manager told Liberty Sports that they saw him at the NPB tryout, and they immediately asked him whether he would like to play in Taiwan.
From NPB to CPBL
Shōtarō Kasahara began his professional career as a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NPB draft. In six NPB seasons, he compiled a career record of 4.44 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 235 innings, pitching for the Chunichi Dragons (2017-22) and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2023).
His most notable season was in 2018, where he posted a 4.14 ERA over 108.2 innings. Later that year, he represented Japan and faced Team Taiwan and MLB All-Star in a friendly series.
- Vs CPBL All-Star in 2018 CPBL-NPB Friendship Series – 2 scoreless innings, gave up one double to Chen Chun-Hisu.
- Vs MLB All-Star in 2018 MLB-NPB Friendship Series – 5 scoreless innings, allowed four hits.
However, due to various injuries, Shōtarō Kasahara was given fewer first-team opportunities after the 2018 season. In 2023, he logged only six innings with a 4.50 ERA with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars’ first team. Eventually, he was let go by the team at the end of the season.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a tracker to monitor all foreign player signings for the 2024 CPBL season.
Kasahara looks like a guy with not a lot left even if he’s not old. He had a good ERA in NPB’s minor league last year, but his peripheral numbers weren’t impressive.
Still, if he pitches as well in Taiwan next year, he might be OK.
One potential red flag is his velocity. It went from 148 kph in his prime down to 140 kph. Honestly, I don’t think it is fast enough for the CPBL, unless he has top-notch command. Having said that, he also has the lefty advantage.
The video suggests his best pitch is a change-up.