"We'll pitch against each other at Zozo Marine Stadium and with the incredible support of the Lotte fans, I'll overwhelm my younger brother and become win pitcher!"

Lotte's fifth-round draft pick, Hayato Fuji (Nippon Express), has vowed to win when he faces off against his younger brother, Seibu Lions 's development player, Yamato Fuji, on the first-team stage.

After deciding to join the team, Fuji apparently contacted his younger brother Yamato, saying, "I congratulated him and we talked about how I hope to be promoted to the controlled ranks soon so that we can face off against each other." He continued, "I hope my brother will be promoted to the controlled ranks soon so that we can face off against each other. I'm no match for him in terms of height, so I'll do my best to make sure I don't lose to him in any other way."

◆ Gaining confidence in the match against DeNA

Fuji attended Omiya Higashi High School, Heisei International University, and Nippon Express before being drafted by the Lotte Marines in the fifth round. During his two years as a professional baseball player, he focused on improving his pitching control, saying, "My control was poor in college, so I focused on control of breaking ball."

On October 8th of this year, he started in a practice game against DeNA at Yokohama Stadium. As DeNA was playing before the first baseman stage of the CS against The Giants, key players such as Hideto Maki, Keita Sano, and Yoshitomo Tsutsugo were playing. Fuji said, "I gained a little confidence, and I feel like I had a really good experience," as closer the DeNA batting line to just two runs in five innings.

"I felt that the aura when standing in batter’s box and the way the batter reacts to the situation were completely different," he said, experiencing firsthand the difference between professional and amateur hitter.

"I threw a few straight pitches in the first inning and wondered how effective my fastballs would be, but I was able to get a few fouls, so I think if I can improve the accuracy, they might be effective," he said, gaining confidence from closer the DeNA batting line-up, which was in serious mode, to just two runs in five innings.

He has a good slider for right-handed batters on the inside. Regarding slider, he said, "I'm confident in it, so I had a practice game against DeNA before going pro, and I was able to throw it pretty well, so I'm confident in it."

He has also had the opportunity to pitch at Zozo Marine Stadium, which will be his home ground from next season. "It was a great experience pitching there this year, and it was a stadium that was very easy to pitch at. I was able to pitch well there. I ended up with a good image, so I hope to be able to pitch with that image even after I become a professional."

Looking ahead to his first year as a professional next season, he stated firmly, "I'm aiming to make the opening day first team, and once my younger brother is promoted to the regular team, I want to pitch against him and win." He is already looking forward to pitching against his younger brother on the first team stage.

▼ Hayato Fuji

number: 46

Date of birth: March 10, 2002

position: pitcher

Height / Weight: 180 cm / 86 kg

Throwing/Hitting: Right/Right

Career: Omiya Higashi High School - Heisei International University - Nippon Express - Lotte (5th draft pick)

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita