"I'm doing really well, so I'd like to keep this up and do my best heading into camp."

Lotte's fifth-round draft pick, Hayato Fuji (Nippon Express), looked back on the joint voluntary training for rookies so far.

On the 15th, the first day of the second round of rookie joint voluntary training, Fuji entered the bullpen for the first time since turning pro, throwing 20 pitches with a standing catcher, and on the 18th, the first day of the third round, he entered bullpen for the second time and threw standing up. On this final day of the third round, he said, "It was cold today, and my fingertips weren't gripping the ball well, so I'll make sure to fix that next time," as he threw standing up for the second time in the third round and third time in the rookie joint voluntary training.

Regarding his three stand-up pitches, he said, "My strong fastball is my forte, so I'll make sure to show that off, and then I'll start throwing breaking ball once camp starts," and he threw a lot of fastball.

At the new player announcement held on December 11th of last year, he cited slider as a pitch he is confident in, saying, "I was able to throw slider pretty well in a practice game against DeNA before going pro, so I'm confident in it." But what about his other breaking ball?

"I don't have breaking ball that I can be confident about other than slider, so I would like to learn from my seniors and coaches and develop breaking ball that is as good as slider."

During his time as a professional, he said, "I was particular about controlling breaking ball curveballs," and specifically told us, "They would go high, so I tried to throw breaking ball as close to the knees as possible. With fork and the like, I tried to throw them in strike zone as much as possible."

Also, when watching Fuji catch during the rookie joint voluntary training, he was always throwing powerful balls from a short distance from the first day. When asked why, he explained, "In my case, if I throw too far away, I end up shooting and my form breaks down. I try to throw powerful balls from as close a distance as possible, paying attention to my form."

There are less than two weeks left until spring training camp on February 1st. "I hope to be able to go without any injuries. I have two more courses, so I want to go strong and head to training camp." He is continuing his preparations for his first spring training camp since turning pro.

▼ 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