Seibu Keita Horikoshi pitcher (22) of Tohoku Fukushi University, the fourth overall pick in the draft by the Tohoku Fukushi University, received a greeting at the school in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on May 5. He is from Hanno City, Saitama, and confesses that he was a passionate Seibu fan, saying, "I was a member of a fan club from the third grade of elementary school until I was in the first grade of junior high school. He was nominated by the baseball team of his dreams. "It's also my hometown team, so I feel like I had a great connection with them," he recalled.
He said he had been to ground during post-game releases and was impressed by how "there was a roof when you looked up and the stands were huge..." After the draft, his parents sent him photos of himself as a child, and he laughed, saying, "There was a photo of me pitching on mound (for Belluna D). I want to tell my younger self that I'm standing there wearing the uniform I always dreamed of."
His signature fastball is a powerful one with a top speed of 157 km/h. He was measured at 164 km/h at the training facility, but said, "That's just a reference record..." and stated firmly, "160 km/h is one of my goals." He aims to grow on the professional stage and break the milestone in front of a large crowd of fans. Saito Makoto's scout, who attended the nomination greeting, spoke from the perspective of catcher, the position he held during his playing days, and expressed his expectations, saying, "Looking at the view from behind, I personally thought that my hands (catching the ball) would hurt. We have many pitcher, so I think he can improve even more."
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・ [Seibu] Draft pick No. 5 Yokota Sowa was born in Saitama, played for The Lions Junior team, and is a true Saitama native who is a regular at Belluna!
・ [Seibu] Sophia University's Yuma Masaki, the sixth draft pick in the development team, signs a provisional contract. "I want to learn everything from scratch," he says with shining eyes.
・ [Seibu] Mitsunari Takahashi will be allowed to transfer to the US major leagues this offseason using the posting system, aiming to challenge the majors
・ [Seibu] Selected right-handed pitcher Keita Horikoshi of Tohoku Fukushi University, who has a maximum speed of 164 km/h, in the 4th round! "I can wear the uniform I've always dreamed of," he said, coming from his hometown of Hanno City.
