Lotte's third-ranked development pitcher, Kosuke Nagashima (Fuji University), is in his first year as a professional this season, pitching 10 games and 16 innings in the farm team, with a record of 2 wins and 0 losses and ERA of 5.63.

Nagashima was one of six players selected from Fuji University in last year's draft. Looking back on his four years at university, he said, "The first and second years were tough seasons, but in the third and fourth years, my opportunities to pitch increased and I was even given the responsibility of starting, so I think that was a reward for my four years." He added enthusiastically, "I've always played at a high level and was selected at a high standings, so I want to surpass each player one by one." He took his first step as a professional baseball player.

His regular season farm team debut came early, on April 4th against the DeNA second team. He pitched in the sixth inning with the score at runs, and commented, "I got a little impatient, and I still need more game experience, so I'd like to get better." Still, he commented, "I've been throwing fork a lot in the bullpen and getting strikeouts in games, so I think it's a pitch I can be confident in." With the score at 3-12 and two outs in the sixth inning, with a runner on third base and a one-ball count, his third pitch, a 134 km/h fork, was a good one, getting a strikeout from Taiki strike.

runs win On April 19, Yakult, in a game against the second team, "With two outs, runs, I went for the third out and hit a sweet fork. I think I was a little loose with my arm there, so I want to be conscious of where I can get count with a firm swing of my arm," he reflected. runner pitch closer I'd like to concentrate on the one-on-one with the hitter," he said.

When he was a student, he said, "I throw a fastball and cutter, and I also throw a two-two seam fastball fastball, but when I want to throw it off-center and not let the batter hit it, I use a curveball, fork, or a ball with a big drop." However, in an interview on April 20th, he said, "Now I use fork more than two seam fastball to get count, and I use it occasionally, but mainly against left-handed hitter. Yesterday (when he pitched on April 19th), my curveball went pretty well, and I was able to get batters to look and miss, and I was also able to get batters to strike out with cutter, so overall I'm feeling good."

Regarding his physique, he said, "Right now I'm training to increase my overall muscle mass and then move faster after increasing that muscle mass. In terms of weight, I've gained 4 or 5 kilograms, and it's difficult to move now, but I've been able to work on slimming down from that, so I think the power of my ball has increased." He was progressing smoothly.

The success of his classmates at Fuji University has also worked to Nagashima's advantage, as he said, "I get good inspiration from them, and I get good inspiration from looking at social media every day."

Since his June 14th game Rakuten minor league team, he has changed pitch form, saying, "I've made it more of a two-step motion, so I can make the most of my momentum." As a result of his physique and his form change, he has been throwing more fastball over 150 km/h. Regarding the reason for this, Nagashima explained, "Rather than speed, I'm focusing on trajectory, and I'm looking for angles that are harder to hit, so I think the speed of my pitches has increased as a result, which is a good thing."

However, in an interview on September 9th, he said about his physique, "Right now I've gained too much weight, so I'm slimming down to lose about 2kg, and as a result, the sharpness of my pitches has improved, but the results haven't been visible, so I'm thinking about getting results." Regarding his ideal weight, he said, "I'd like to be around 93kg, with a body fat percentage of about 15%."

"I'm studying how to pitch a fastball that looks like it has more power, focusing on my weight and other areas where I need to tighten up, so that when I pitch it from above, the batter can't hit it and it looks like it has more power."

In the Oisix game on September 12, he took the mound in the second inning of 1-6, threw 24 pitches in 2 innings, allowed only one hit by infield hit, and took two struck out in fork, and closer to runs closer to 7 inning runs in 3 games from the same game, to 7 .

Nagashima declared that in the future, "I would like to work with either closer in the relief type," and during the season, after returning to his dormitory, he studied "the same type reliever of pitcher as a reference and let me see what kind of ball he is throwing and where he is putting his energy.

Next season will be his second year as a professional, and he hopes to increase his number of appearances in the farm team and achieve results that will bring him one step closer to being registered as a controlled player.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita