Orix Buffaloes 's fifth-round draft pick, pitcher Shuhei Takaya (Hokkai Gakuen University), is aiming to make the opening day first team with "rolling around training." On the 11th, he participated in a joint voluntary training session for rookies in Maishima, Osaka, and adjusted his training by sprinting and catch. "My body is in great shape. It's still the first training session, so I want to control myself and not go too far," he said enthusiastically, introducing his "unconventional" routine.

"People around me would look at me and say, 'What are you doing?'" he explained about the "body control" training he learned from a trainer in his university days. He said he incorporates exercises in which he lies on the floor and moves each part of his body as a warm-up before going to bed or before pitching.

He was a reserve pitcher at Sapporo Nichi-Dai, but over the four years of college, he has worked carefully with weight training and has developed into the fastest 153-kilogram right hander in the world. He said, "There's no name for it, no formula. It looks like I'm just lounging on the floor, but each movement is connected to baseball the other," he said, stressing that pitch it's all about "building movement" for form, and revealed that he's been doing it every day even after moving into the dormitory on July 7.

Aside from pitcher Ishikawa Kenny (University of Georgia), who was selected sixth and will wait until the MLB draft scheduled for mid-July this year to decide on his future, Takaya is the only college graduate from the 2025 draft class under contract. "My goal is to spend a year with the first team. I think the quality of my fastball, breaking ball and slider are my strengths, so I hope I can make an impact," he said, revealing his awareness of being an immediate asset. (Nambu Shunta)