Sauryn Lao Bio
Sauryn Lao (born August 14, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He first reached the major leagues in 2025, appearing for both the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals during a single season. He is listed as a pitcher for the Fighters wearing number 30.
Lao began his professional career as a position player in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization before converting to pitching in the minor leagues. His professional journey has carried him through the Dominican Summer League, several U.S. affiliates, and eventually into Major League Baseball before he signed with a club in Japan.
Early Life and Background
Sauryn Lao was born on August 14, 1999, and is Dominican by nationality. He grew up in the Dominican Republic, a country with a deep pipeline of professional baseball talent. He signed his first professional contract at age 16, which placed him on the path toward the major leagues while still an adolescent.
Detailed information about his family, parents, and early schooling is not publicly available in verified sources. What is known is that his athletic ability attracted international scouts at a young age, and he signed with a Major League organization before finishing his teenage years.
Path to Baseball
Lao signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent on October 2, 2015, at the age of 16. He was originally developed as an infielder and began his career in the Dominican Summer League in 2016. In his debut professional season, he hit .201 over 50 games for the DSL Dodgers.
He returned to the DSL in 2017 and improved his offensive numbers, slashing .303/.373/.412 with two home runs, 36 RBI, and 19 stolen bases. The following year, Lao helped the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers capture a league championship, contributing a two-RBI triple in the deciding game. These early seasons showcased a versatile infielder with speed and developing power at the lower levels of professional baseball.
Sauryn Lao Career
Early Career (2016–2019)
Lao spent the first several years of his professional career in the Dodgers’ rookie and lower-level affiliates, continuing to play as an infielder. In 2018, he batted .262/.359/.476 with four home runs and 22 RBI in 40 regular-season appearances, and added a clutch triple in the Arizona League championship final.
He advanced to the rookie-level Ogden Raptors in 2019, where he played 61 games and slashed .271/.362/.480 with nine home runs, 45 RBI, and six stolen bases. Lao did not appear in any official games in 2020 after the minor league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conversion to Pitcher (2021–2024)
Lao returned to action in 2021 with the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, hitting .244/.330/.419 with career highs of 11 home runs and 46 RBI. During the 2022 season, the Dodgers organization began transitioning him from position player to pitcher, and he split his final season as a hitter between the Arizona Complex League Dodgers and the High-A Great Lakes Loons.
He made his debut on the mound in 2023, splitting the year between Rancho Cucamonga, Great Lakes, and the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. Across 34 relief appearances, he posted a 4–0 record and a 3.79 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 57 innings. In 2024, Lao reached Triple-A with the Oklahoma City Baseball Club and Tulsa, logging a 3.74 ERA, two saves, and 54 strikeouts in 20 relief outings. He elected free agency on November 4, 2024.
Major League Debut (2025)
On December 14, 2024, Lao signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and began the 2025 season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He was promoted to the major leagues on April 20 and made his MLB debut on April 22 against the Boston Red Sox, striking out three and allowing an unearned run in 1⅔ innings.
The Mariners designated him for assignment on April 30, and he cleared waivers before being sent outright to Triple-A on May 2. After being added back to the active roster on August 19, he appeared once more for Seattle, allowing three runs in 1⅔ innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was designated for assignment again on September 1, 2025.
Washington Nationals and First MLB Win (2025)
On September 3, 2025, the Washington Nationals claimed Sauryn Lao off waivers. He appeared in five games for Washington, pitching 6⅔ innings and allowing three runs. On September 20, 2025, he earned his first Major League win after pitching a scoreless 10th inning in an 11-inning victory over the New York Mets.
He finished his first MLB season with a 4.91 ERA, nine strikeouts, and two walks across 11 innings pitched. Between the majors and Triple-A stops with Tacoma and Rochester, he combined for a 2–4 record, a 3.25 ERA, and 75 strikeouts in 74⅔ innings.
Driving Style and Strengths
Public information about the finer details of Lao’s pitching mechanics is limited. What can be confirmed from his minor league record is that he has been deployed almost exclusively as a reliever, and he has produced strong strikeout totals relative to innings pitched at every minor league level.
Notable Events and Milestones
His most prominent milestones include his MLB debut with the Mariners on April 22, 2025, and his first Major League win with the Nationals on September 20, 2025. He also holds a championship from his time with the Arizona League Dodgers in 2018.
Sauryn Lao Career Wins
Lao’s verified Major League win came on September 20, 2025, against the New York Mets, when he recorded a scoreless 10th inning. In the minor leagues, his pitching record includes a 4–0 mark in 2023 and additional relief appearances through Triple-A in 2024 and 2025.
Major League Highlights
Sauryn Lao made his Major League debut in 2025 and finished the season with a 1–0 record, a 4.91 ERA, and nine strikeouts in 11 innings across 11 appearances split between Seattle and Washington. His first MLB win remains a notable career milestone.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond the majors, Lao earned a 4–0 record across three affiliates in 2023, with 73 strikeouts in 57 innings, and a combined 2–4 Triple-A record in 2025 between the Tacoma Rainiers and Rochester Red Wings.
Sauryn Lao Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Verified information about Sauryn Lao’s immediate family is not publicly available. He is known to be Dominican, which is consistent with his development path through the Dominican Summer League.
Personal Life
There are no confirmed public details about Sauryn Lao’s spouse, children, or residence at this time. Coverage of his career has focused on his on-field performance rather than his personal life.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season marked Sauryn Lao’s first taste of Major League Baseball. He split the year between Triple-A Tacoma, a brief stint with the Mariners, and a September call-up with the Nationals, where he earned his first MLB win against the Mets.
Across 11 innings in the majors, he posted a 4.91 ERA with nine strikeouts, while his Triple-A line of 2–4 with a 3.25 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 74⅔ innings showed continued development. His season ended when the Nationals released him on January 9, 2026, clearing the way for him to sign with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in NPB.
Heading into 2026, Lao is set to pitch in Nippon Professional Baseball for the first time, representing the next chapter of a career that began as a teenage infielder in the Dominican Republic.