Ryōto Kita

Ryoto Kita (Japanese: 来田 涼斗; born October 16, 2002) is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Career

Orix Buffaloes On October 26, 2020, Kita was selected by the Orix Buffaloes in the 3rd round of the 2020 NPB draft.

On July 13, 2021, Kita made his professional debut as the starting left fielder against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He hit a 2-run-home run on the first pitch of his first at-bat off Takahide Ikeda in the 1st inning. In his second at-bat in the top of the 3rd inning, Kita singled to left field and recorded his first stolen base. He also recorded an infield hit in his third at-bat in the top of the 6th inning. Kita finished the season, playing 23 games and batting .211 with 2 home runs and 8 runs batted in.

On May 26, 2022, Kita collided in a defensive play with his teammate, and suffered a concussion. Kita ultimately only played in 10 games for the first team.

Kita made the opening day roster in 2023 and was starting left fielder against the Saitama Seibu Lions. However, he was removed from the first team roster after poor results. Kita appeared in just 4 games in the 2023 season. Kita participated in the 2023 edition of the Asia Winter Baseball League, held in Taiwan. Across 17 games and 59 at-bats for the NPB Red team, Kita recorded a .305 batting average, 1 home run, and 5 RBIs.

On May 1, 2024, Kita was promoted to the first team after hitting .364 and 1 home run with the farm team. On May 5, Kita hit a 2-run single against the Nippon-Ham Fighters, recording his first RBI for the first team in over three years. On August 1, Kita hit a solo-home run off Ryusei Kawano of the Fighters, his first home run in three years. Kita ended the year playing 53 games, batting .212 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.