In NPB, a 6 man rotation with Monday as a designated off day for all teams means a starter only pitches once a week. Pitchers also like to continue throwing by the dugout between innings to stay warm.
Many NPB starters don’t prioritize velocity in the same way as their MLB counterparts, but regularly run 100+ pitch counts every start, even going 120+ pitches at times.
The pitch counts and workloads at the amateur level also go far beyond what would be accepted as normal practice in modern American youth baseball.
Yet, it’s worth noting that pitchers seemingly have fewer long-term injuries in Japan, though one could argue that teams/players are more reluctant to publicly diagnose it, pursue major surgery, etc. Some pitchers also clearly get overworked and see a dip in performance, even if they aren’t technically injured.
There are also cases where conservative treatment can sometimes delay a recovery timeline even more (e.g. Yasunobu Okugawa skipped Tommy John but still effectively missed 3 seasons; Kodai Umetsu didn’t get surgery on a major shoulder injury from 2024 for half a year and still hasn’t made a rehab start).
NPB also doesn’t have an “injured list,” so it’s not uncommon for a player to be diagnosed with something along the lines of “poor condition” and just be MIA for a few weeks or months.
But it’s relatively rare to see more than a couple of the top 50 starters in the league go down with long-term injuries any given season. 2026 is admittedly not the best example with top starters like Shunpeita Yamashita and Hiroya Miyagi both undergoing Tommy John.
It’s not because NPB teams have better medical staffs or better load management. It’s probably quite the opposite. But the truth is that many Japanese pitchers are throwing *more* and getting injured *less*.
Velocity is king, and MLB has reached a point where young players must chase it to increase their chances of success. Injuries are at an all-time high. There isn’t one solution, but 6 man rotations and more pitchers on the roster are the natural evolution.
The @Brewers are the first NL team to punch their Postseason ticket!
For the 8th time in 9 seasons, they’re headed to October! #CLINCHED
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