Lotte's bullpen is getting younger.

With the absence of established pitcher in their 30s such as Naoya Masuda, Hirokazu Sawamura, Yuki Kuniyoshi, Guerrero, Takahiro Nishimura, and Koshiro Sakamoto, the first-team bullpen is being supported by pitcher in their 20s. The oldest pitcher on the bench for the game against Nippon-Ham on May 16 was 31-year-old Keisuke Sawada, followed by 28-year-old Fumiya Ono, 27-year-old Akira Yagi, 26-year-old Shota Suzuki, Shuta Takano, 24-year-old Riku Kikuchi, 22-year-old Shunsuke Nakamori, and 19-year-old Yuto Kimura, with the average age of the eight pitchers being 25.

▼ pitcher who were on the bench for the game against Nippon-Ham on May 16th

Keisuke Sawada 31 years old

Iku Ono, 28 years old

Akira Yagi, 27 years old

Shuta Takano 26 years old

Shota Suzuki 26 years old

Riku Kikuchi 24 years old

Shunsuke Nakamori 22 years old

Yuto Kimura 19 years old

When I interviewed bullpen pitcher coach Tomohiro Kuroki last season, he said about the relief pitchers, "The players look at batting order and predict when they will be called in to pitch when inning get deeper and deeper from the middle, and then they move ahead. After that, I think they are prepared."

Last season, there were many experienced pitcher such as Masuda and Kuniyoshi in the first team. Now, the first team bullpen is mainly made up of young pitchers, so how does pitcher coach Kuroki view the "preparation" aspect?

"Everyone is watching the flow of the game and making careful predictions, like 'If it were me, I'd probably pitch around here,' or 'Someone else would probably pitch around here,' so they're thoroughly prepared."

I wonder if Coach Kuroki himself has anything in mind in bullpen to help the young pitcher perform better on mound.

The players know the game plan, and they know which pitches are going to be thrown and which ones are going to be thrown with a big change of direction pitcher. If it's a left-handed hitter, the left side will come, and if it's a strong left pitcher side, the players know to some extent what to expect.

I wonder if the atmosphere in bullpen has changed with the addition of more young players.

"Of course we've gotten younger, but there are still some players who aren't quite able to grasp the game plan or the flow of the game, so we're encouraging them in that area. We're seeing more players who say, 'If it were me, I'd go like this,' or 'If it were me, I'd attack aggressively,' and who are more aggressive and want to pitch. I think that's one of the good things about being young."

In the May 15 game against Rakuten, Kimura, a second-year high school graduate, came up to the mound in the ninth inning of a 5-2 win, and while giving up runner, he runs the first inning with no closer to earn his first professional save. Coach Kuroki said, "The phone rang, and I sent Kimura off with the feeling that he was going. The players also get into their minds when they get the call, and they have a certain amount of anticipation before that, so I try to prepare them from the inning before that happens. When the call came, it was a bit spicy."

"Young players are being used in a tough team situation. Because it's the professional world, all the players are fighting with the desire to win their position. I think you can see their awareness of what they're aiming for and their desire to win that position." With the veteran relief pitchers now absent from the first team, young pitcher are desperately trying to appeal to grab the opportunity. Although the team is in a tough situation, I hope that as many players as possible will emerge who can grab a position in the first team and support The Marines bullpen.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita