A WASHINGTON BULLDOG AND A JAPANESE TRITON JOINING THE 'SOX THIS SUMMER

Smith Slye - smith.slye@wsu.edu

A Washington Bulldog and a Japanese Triton joining the ‘Sox this summer

While both play for Washington JUCOs, the two incoming AppleSox are about as different as they come. Colin Fraser and Chihiro Sato are each joining Wenatchee this summer, and each comes from a wildly different walk of life.

Fraser is a homegrown left-hander out of Snoqualmie, whereas Sato is a crafty righty from Japan who is switching allegiances in the West Coast League. Each brings two years of JUCO ball with them to the valley, and each will want to test themselves against D1 talent.

So, who are these two bullpen arms coming to Wenatchee…

Colin Fraser - LHP - Sophomore

Growing up in the shadow of Mount Si, Fraser will be trading one valley for the other when he gets to Wenatchee. The left-handed Washingtonian made a short move to Bellevue to start out his collegiate career, and while he is wrapping up his second year with the Bulldogs, there is very little information about his time there.

His stats from this year are unavailable. However, his freshman year numbers are quite revealing.

He made 14 appearances in his first year, with five of them being starts. In that time, he allowed just 19 runs, 25 walks, and struck out 35 batters. Tally it all up, and you get a 4.46 ERA in his first year in JUCO.

Before winding up at Bellevue College, Fraser was carving up batters at Mount Si High School in the Snoqualmie Valley. A career 2.78 ERA, only 29 runs, 36 walks, and 74 strikeouts was the damage report after four years. He had a prototypical path through high school baseball, with one year on the freshman team, one on JV, and two on varsity.

His decision to start at a JUCO mirrors his time in high school. Fraser trusts the process and takes his time to develop at his own pace.

His Bulldog tenure is officially over, meaning Fraser will need to test out the noodle against some higher-level bats before he finds his way to a D1 roster. As one of the few lefties in the pen, he will get a perfect chance to do that in Wenatchee.

Chihiro Sato - RHP - Sophomore

Playing baseball at the college level is tough enough. Now throw in a language barrier and a cultural divide, and it becomes borderline impossible.

That is what Sato has had to deal with in his first two years in the States. The righty from Tokyo was discovered back in 2024, when an Edmonds College scout saw him pitch in Japan.

One 10-hour flight later, Sato got his college career rolling with the Tritons in Washington. In just his freshman year, Sato showed exactly why the cross-continental flight was worth it.

He made 12 appearances in year one, eight of which were starts. He allowed just 19 runs, 10 walks, and punched out 36 batters in that time, giving him a 2.81 ERA in his debut college season.  

After the spring ended, Sato continued to scratch the baseball itch when he joined the Bellingham Bells in the West Coast League for the 2025 season. He was used heavily by the Bells that summer, who called him in 15 times, mainly in relief.

In his 15 outings, Sato coughed up just 16 runs, 13 walks, and struck out 20 batters. This brought his ERA to 3.60 after the summer.

Getting to live with a host family over the summer made Sato’s transition to leagues better. He spent much of his time watching and talking baseball with his host family, the Reeds, in Bellingham.

As someone new to the country, finding community can be hard. But with a family built in, summer league baseball suited Sato well.

After his time in Bellingham ended, Sato got right back to work with the Tritons. This year, he made 10 starts on the mound, averaging around 6.0 innings per outing. In those 10 starts, he averaged two runs, one walk, and five strikeouts per game. This gives him a 2.93 ERA, which is slightly worse than his freshman year, but still wildly impressive for the 5-foot-10 righty.​

With a fastball that doesn’t crack 90 mph, deception becomes the key to Sato’s success. His ability to change tempo, throw off-speed, and mess with hitters is a direct product of the Japanese style of pitching.

Along with that, the Japanese style is his rubber arm. Sato throws long tosses often, allowing him to pitch longer than his American counterparts.

Put it all together, and you get a Japanese right-hander that pitches like a lefty, something you don’t see often. After swapping the Bells for the ‘Sox this summer, Sato will be getting back to work in the WCL and continuing to find his stride in the States.

The 2026 season begins on May 29 as the AppleSox jet off to Edmonton to play the Edmonton RiverHawks at RE/MAX Field at 6:05 p.m. The AppleSox open their home season on June 5th at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium as they host the Kamloops NorthPaws. The AppleSox have 29 home games and play until mid-August. The franchise’s five West Coast League championships are the second-most in league history. Season ticket packages are available for purchase now at applesox.com/season-tickets.