The following year, he finished with a 0.45 ERA, won the league MVP and best nine award,[3] and helped his team win the championships.

He was assigned jersey number 28, which formerly belonged to reliever Shinobu Fukuhara who retired in 2016, and is currently working as a pitching coach for Hanshin's farm league team.

[1] 2017 Along with fellow draftees Kento Itohara and Yūsuke Ōyama, Taiki joined the main roster's spring training camp.

[6] He debuted on May 21 match against the Yakult Swallows in Meiji Jingu, where he pitted against fellow uni-drafted rookie Tomoya Hoshi.

With an overhand delivery, he throws a four-seam fastball averaging 145 km/h (tops out at 151 km/h), a forkball clocked at low 130s, an occasional curveball, and a solid slider that ranges from 120 to 140 km/h.