Yamaguchi with 38 homers, Masaki with 28… Japan considering both as APBC over-age candidates

Koki Yamaguchi, second in the Pacific League in home runs, and Tomoya Masaki, fifth, have been mentioned as over-age candidates for Japan's APBC 2026 roster. The Korea-Japan game is on Nov. 13.

Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.

Summary in three lines

Nikkan Sports reported on Oct. 7 that Yamaguchi and Masaki are being considered as over-age candidates for Japan's APBC roster.
As of Oct. 5, NPB records show Yamaguchi second in the league with 38 home runs and Masaki fifth with 28.
APBC will be held Nov. 12–15 at the Tokyo Dome, and the Korea-Japan preliminary game is scheduled for the 13th at 19:00.

Three years ago, Koki Yamaguchi hit 14 home runs in a season. This year, as of the end of games on Oct. 5, he has hit 38 home runs. This hitter's name is now coming up as a candidate for the Japanese national team. Nikkan Sports reported on Oct. 7 that Yamaguchi and SoftBank outfielder Tomoya Masaki are being considered as over-age candidates for Japan's roster at APBC (Asia Professional Baseball Championship) 2026. If both are selected, it would be their first national team call-up.

Yamaguchi 38 home runs, Masaki 28 home runs: 2nd and 5th in the Pacific League home run standings

Yamaguchi debuted in the first team in 2021. After first qualifying for the batting title in 2023, he struggled in 2024–2025. His rebound began when he came back up to the first team this year. He won the Pacific League monthly MVP award for batters for the first time in August, and hit his 30th home run on Sept. 15. It is the first 30-homer season by a Japanese player on the club in 40 years.

Masaki also climbed back after time away. He joined SoftBank as the 2nd pick in the 2021 draft. In April 2025, he had surgery for a subluxation of his left shoulder. After being called up to the first team in May this year, he established himself as the leadoff hitter. In 101 games he has batted .274 with 28 home runs and 59 RBIs.

Pacific League home run standings (as of Oct. 5, 2026, NPB)

Rank	Player	Team	Home runs
1	Ryoya Kurihara	SoftBank	40
2	Koki Yamaguchi	Chiba Lotte	38
3	Franmil Reyes	Nippon-Ham	32
3	Kensuke Kondo	SoftBank	32
5	Tomoya Masaki	SoftBank	28
6	Carson McCusker	Rakuten	24

NPB official records show Yamaguchi trailing leader Kurihara by 2. His 38 is about 2.7 times the 14 of three years ago (38÷14). He hit 44% of his 86 career first-team home runs in this one season (38÷86). Of Masaki's 40 career home runs, 70% came this year (28÷40).

APBC over-age: up to 3 players aged 29 or under… Masaki's age reported as both 26 and 27

APBC is originally a stage for young players. According to the official announcement from the Japan national baseball team, the planned rules call for a 28-player roster with basic eligibility of age 24 or under or within the 3rd year since joining a team. Players outside this standard can be selected as over-age players, up to 3 players aged 29 or under. Both players exceed the basic eligibility but fall within the over-age standard.

Masaki's age has been reported differently by different outlets. Sports Chosun listed him as 27 on the 7th, while Nikkan Sports gave 26 the same day. His birth date registered with NPB is Nov. 5, 1999. As of Oct. 7, he is 26 by full age, and he will turn 27 before the tournament opens on Nov. 12.

Wording also differs on the selection stage. Sports Chosun's sentence saying he was 'named to the roster' can read like a final selection. However, Nikkan Sports' original report says the players are at the candidate-consideration stage and attaches the condition 'if selected.' In reporting for this article, we could not confirm an official final roster from the Japanese national team.

APBC 2026 schedule: Korea-Japan game on Nov. 13 at 19:00 at the Tokyo Dome

Japan's national team officially announced the tournament schedule on Sept. 4. APBC 2026 is scheduled to be held at the Tokyo Dome from Nov. 12 to 15. The Korea-Japan preliminary game is set for Nov. 13 at 19:00.

Many things are still undecided. The official notice added a caveat that player eligibility and game rules will also be finalized after consultation with the organizing bodies. Whether either player will actually appear in the Korea-Japan game is also unconfirmed.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is Tomoya Masaki 26 or 27?

Based on his NPB birth date (Nov. 5, 1999), he is 26 by full age as of Oct. 7. His birthday falls before APBC opens on Nov. 12, so he will be 27 during the tournament.

Q. When is the APBC 2026 Korea-Japan game?

According to the official announcement from the Japan national baseball team, the Korea-Japan preliminary game is scheduled for Nov. 13, 2026, at 19:00 at the Tokyo Dome. The full tournament runs from Nov. 12 to 15.

Q. What is Koki Yamaguchi's salary?

According to Nikkan Sports' report on his contract renewal, his estimated salary for the 2026 season is 30 million yen. That is down 5 million yen from 35 million yen in the 2025 season, and all figures are media estimates.

Related official sites

Japan national baseball team APBC 2026 official tournament page — check the tournament schedule and the announcement of the final roster
NPB Pacific League official home run records — check the latest home run standings
NPB Koki Yamaguchi player record — check season and career stats
NPB Tomoya Masaki player record — check birth date and season stats

Featured image · archival photo · not an on-site photo of a current game in this article · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Hotta Akahane), CC BY 4.0