Gosuke John Katoh (, ''Katō Gōsuke'', born October 8, 1994) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

Playing career

New York Yankees

The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

selected Katoh in the second round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

out of

Rancho Bernardo High School Rancho Bernardo High School (RBHS) is a public high school in San Diego County, California. It is part of Poway Unified School District. The school was opened in 1991 as the district's third high school. Enrollment For the 2019-2020 school ...

. He made his professional debut for the Yankees' rookie-league affiliate, appearing in 50 games and batting .310 and was a Post-Season All-Star of the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

. In 2014, Katoh was ranked as the team's 11th best prospect by MLB.com. He played for the Single-A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

, hitting .222/.345/.326 in 121 games. The following year, Katoh split the season between Charleston and the rookie league

Pulaski Yankees The Pulaski Yankees were a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They were an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League. The team played its home games at Calfee Park. They were affiliated with severa ...

, batting a combined .239/.367/.334 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI. He was named a Post-Season All-Star of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. For the 2016 season, Katoh returned to Charleston and batted .229/.320/.335 with 1 home run in 65 games. In 2017, he played for the High-A

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

, slashing .293/.376/.440 in 84 contests. In 2018, Katoh played in 118 games for the Double-A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

, posting a slash of .229/.327/.335 with 5 home runs and 35 RBI. Katoh split the 2019 season between Trenton and the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, hitting .267/.362/.401 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI in 113 games between the two teams. He elected free agency for the first time in his career following the 2019 season on November 4, 2019.

Miami Marlins

On December 18, 2019, Katoh signed a minor league contract with the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

organization. Katoh did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was not included in the team's initial 60-man player pool but spent the entire year in their alternate site in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...

. Katoh became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

San Diego Padres

On November 16, 2020, Katoh signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

organization. In 2021, Katoh played in 114 games for the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

, slashing .306/.388/.474 with 8 home runs and 42 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 16, 2021, Katoh signed a minor league contract with the

. On April 4, 2022, it was announced that Katoh had made the Opening Day roster. He made his MLB debut on April 9, pinch running for Alejandro Kirk. Katoh was optioned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on April 10, but was recalled on April 14 after Teoscar Hernández was placed on the 10-day

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. On April 21, he made his first MLB start, drawing a walk and scoring a run on a Bo Bichette RBI. On April 27, he got his first Major League base hit, a double, off of

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

pitcher Michael Wacha. On May 1, as MLB active rosters decreased from 28 to 26, he was sent down to the Bisons again, and on May 4, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

New York Mets

On May 7, 2022, Katoh was waived by the Blue Jays but later claimed by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. The Mets subsequently optioned him to their Triple-A affiliate, the

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

. Katoh was recalled on May 17 but was optioned again on May 21 without appearing in a game. He was designated for assignment on June 16, then was sent outright to Syracuse.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

The

(NPB) selected Katoh in the third round of the 2022 NPB draft. On November 4, 2022, he signed with the Fighters for ¥114 million (approximately $850,000). An oblique injury in March delayed the start to his 2023 season, and he made his NPB debut on May 25, 2023. On May 30, he hit his first NPB home run off of Yuta Ichikawa of the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

. Katoh hit safely in his first 8 games in NPB, surpassing Shūzō Aono, who achieved the feat in 1962 with Toei. He would extend the hit streak to a final total of 10 games. In 62 games for the team, he batted .210/.284/.330 with six home runs and 16 RBI. Katoh played in 28 contests for the Fighters in 2024, slashing .172/.238/.190 with no home runs and one RBI. On November 2, 2024, Katoh announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Post-playing career

On November 9, 2024, Katoh announced that he had accepted a role in the

' front office.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katoh, Gosuke 1994 births Living people American baseball players of Japanese descent Baseball players from Santa Clara County, California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston RiverDogs players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gulf Coast Yankees players Major League Baseball infielders Sportspeople from Mountain View, California Pulaski Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tampa Yankees players Toronto Blue Jays players Trenton Thunder players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Syracuse Mets players Rancho Bernardo High School alumni category:Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players