by Megan Garcia
Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been an ace to start his second season in the Major Leagues. His 1.06 ERA in six starts paved a path for the right-hander to be named the National League Pitcher of the Month.
Yamamoto’s ERA leads all qualified starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. He recorded three quality starts in six outings with each being scoreless — while also having two 10-strikeout games. Yamamoto’s previous single-game career-high was nine strikeouts, which he set on April 9 last season.
His strong launch to 2025 began with his Opening Day start in Tokyo against the Cubs on March 18. He allowed one run in five innings on three hits, one walk and four strikeouts. It positioned the Dodgers for a 4–1 victory and Yamamoto’s first win of the season.
https://medium.com/media/09a74c1569d2d84d5be3e6a1b6fd2f37/href
Since then, Yamamoto emerged as the Dodgers’ top starter as injuries to Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow riddled the rotation.
Yamamoto has kept hitters off the board with a 31.8% whiff rate — ranking in the 84th percentile. His splitter has been a key factor in his early season success. Opposing teams are batting .111 (5-for-45) and have struck out 22 times against the pitch.
Yamamoto also had a 21-inning scoreless streak that started on March 28 against the Tigers in the fourth. The streak ended in the first inning against the Pirates on April 25.
His 11.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate ranks fifth in MLB. His 1.00 WHIP ranks eighth in the National League.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto named NL Pitcher of the Month was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.