Lotte's third-year player, Yuto Yoshikawa, won registration as a controlled player on July 31st, the final day of the registration deadline, and made his professional debut against Seibu on August 1st, earning his first professional start and first win against Rakuten on August 21st.

In preparation for the 2025 season, Yoshikawa participated in the Australian Winter League, where he gained practical experience as a starter, saying, "Since I was going to be a starter, my goal was to pitch long inning. There are differences between the environments in Japan and Australia, as well as differences in the coaches' teaching methods, so I tried to absorb those things and work towards improving my pitching." In the Winter League, he pitched 14 innings in three games, finishing with two wins and one strike out inning, ERA of 3.86.

He spent February at the Miyakonojo training camp, and after the season began, he pitched as a relief pitcher in the match against Oisix on March 18 and the match against Rakuten on March 26. In the match against Rakuten 's second team on March 26, he pitched from a set position instead of a no-windup pitch when there were no runner on base, saying, "The wind was strong, and if you stand on one leg for a long time, you can't handle the wind."

On April 10th, his third appearance of the season was against The Giants' second team, where he made his first start of the season, pitching five runs innings and closer his first win of the season. On the 18th, he pitched 6 2/3 innings against Yakult second team, allowing only two runs, earning his second win.

"I think the other day was the first time I pitched for seven innings, but the last time I inning that long was when I was in my third year of high school.It's been two or three years since then, so it was physically tough, and I felt like I wasn't at my best," he said, revealing his weaknesses.

Last season, he placed importance on the coordination between the upper and lower body when throwing fastball, and regarding that he revealed, "I don't know if I'm able to achieve coordination, but I'm able to throw strong balls, so I'd like to continue to work on stabilizing my form and practicing hard."

fastball Regarding change-up and slider, both of which support pitch, he said, "They are well done at the moment, so there is a straight line between the two. To some extent, or rather, to be able to manipulate them a little more. I am currently able to do so, but I would like to push it further," he said.

In March and April, he pitched 5 games and 20 1/3 innings, going 2-1, 18 strike out, ERA 3.10 and appealed toward becoming a dominant player. However, in May, he pitched 8 runs in 6 innings in a game against DeNA Nigun on the 9th, Rakuten and again on the 24th, win pitcher but continued to be inconsistent pitch with 4 runs in 3 innings.

On June 29, The Giants in a game against the second team, he threw his best 12 strike out innings since joining the pro ranks from the first inning to the sixth inning every inning, hit just one hit, and threw 6 innings and 87 pitches, with 1 hit hit, 12 strike out, 1 BB, and no runs. He showed an impressive pitch.

fastball were particularly powerful, including the first pitch he threw to Richard with one out and no runner on base in the fourth inning with fastball at 3-0, which he threw inside and missed. Yoshikawa himself reflected, "I imagined it would be about the same as usual, but I was able to get some strikeouts, so I think it was good."

The weapon, slider, was a 3-0 3rd inning with a 3-0 3-0 slider that fell vertically from 2 strike struck out, and the 5th pitch with a 3-0 4th inning with two outs runner Ryusei Mitsuka from 2 balls 2 slider strike to the struck out 5th pitch was a cut-like ball. slider When I checked how many types he was throwing, he told me, "It depends on how much you put your finger on."

The change-up of the trajectory of the fork system, which finished off Joki Sasahara with a swing struck out from 2 strike without two runner outs in the 5th inning of 6-0, was also good. "change-up is the deciding ball, so I think it's a good feeling that I was able to catch a good swing there, as in every game," he said.

In the Nippon-Ham match against the second team on July 9th, he teamed up with an experienced Tatsuhiro Tamura, saying, "I was told that it would be okay if I continued to do it as usual, especially as usual." He struggled with the first pitch and lost 2 runs, but he combined the 6th inning to 3 runs and won his 5th win.

He played in 12 games (8 starts) in the farm team, posting a record of 5 wins and 2 losses ERA of 3.67, and was registered as a controlled player on July 31st.

On the same day, he was promoted to the pro league for the first time, and on August 1st, he made a relief appearance against Seibu Lions, just five days after a minor league game. He took the mound in the fourth inning with the score at 0-8, throwing 67 pitches over four innings, hit, strike out three, Hit by Pitch five, and allowing three runs. In an interview on August 5th, Yoshikawa expressed regret about his first professional appearance, saying, "I think it wasn't good," and enthusiastically added, "I hope I can get revenge sometime soon."

When asked specifically what went wrong, he reflected, "I think it's inevitable to be nervous, but I got nervous, and although I wouldn't say it was because of it, I lost control in some areas.I hit two balls, so I think I should have controlled it a bit more."

It wasn't just bad things. 4 inning thrown and the hit is only 1. "Murata is a batter who plays against the second team a little bit, and he was a batter who somehow knew his tendencies. I think it was easier to do than to say I didn't know anything," he said, finishing Reon Murata with a 118 kg slider missed struck out from 1 ball 2 strike to the fourth pitch in the 6th inning with no outs on first base, recording his first professional strike out.

After pitching in the first team, what differences did he feel between the first and second teams?

"The atmosphere is completely different, and I feel like I can get away with a bad pitch more easily than in the minor leagues. I think I have to be more nervous, and when I'm nervous, it becomes difficult when the ball is a ball like it was last time, so I'm wondering how bold I can be under those circumstances."

Having achieved his goal of pitching in the first team, he said, "I've been able to pitch in the first team sooner than I expected, so I hope I closer well and get my first win," and set his next goal as his first professional win.

In the Rakuten game on August 21, which was his first professional start, he closer to a three-way retirement in the first and second innings, and runs in the third inning of 2-1, but pitched 1 hit 1 runs until the fourth inning. Then, in the bottom of the 4th inning, the batting line scored a large number of 9 runs, including a Koki Yamaguchi 1 inning 2 Home Run. He gave up 3 runs in the 5th inning of 11-1, but made his first professional win with 4 runs in the 5th inning.

I was so tired that I was afraid that I could get Tatsumi to make the best choice. I think it went exactly as I had hoped, but I thought today that I could have made more of the best choices I could have made when I was getting tired, such as getting closer with a minimum runs or getting double play with a infield ground ball from Tatsumi.

"I was reminded once again that the first and second teams are different. The atmosphere was different, and it was the same when I was batting first in the fifth inning. I got greedy at a point where I would normally struck out or hit a weak ball, and the ball ended up floating and getting hit, which made it difficult for me, so I thought I should have adjusted the way I use my pitches in those situations a little more to the first team level, and I would like to change how I structure my pitches."

After his first professional win, he did not pitch in the first team, pitching in two games for the farm team and finished the season. "We're just in the same year, so I think the difference is obvious to anyone who sees it, and I think the difference between us is too great to be called rivals," he said, and we hope to see him and his classmate, Haruya Tanaka, liven up the starting lineup next season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita