Goal for 3rd year Rakuten Eagles Kosaika "Finish Run" Tatsuki Koja of Rakuten Eagles pitcher (24) opened his voluntary training at his home base Rakuten Eagles mobile on March 21. The left-hander, who won seven games last season, set "finishing the race" as his goal for his third year as a pro.

Last season, he had the most wins among the team's starting pitchers, but he only innings pitched, which was not enough to innings pitched. He was also demoted to the second team due to poor performance, and was unable to "complete the season."

The biggest reason for his fluctuations in performance is poor form due to a lack of physical strength. This offseason, he has been working hard on running and core training to "solve his issues." Furthermore, he has been working on improving pitch form by checking video footage and eliminating unnecessary movements of his upper body, saying, "I want to improve the reproducibility of my form when I'm tired."

He has emerged as a candidate to be the opening pitcher for the first time, but "first of all, I have to get into the rotation." Last year, he got off to a slightly delayed start in the training camp, so he will be trying to impress management by finishing early. "I want to complete the year with health as my number one priority. Beyond that, I can see the required innings pitched," he said, vowing to stick to the rotation. (Hoshino Kazuaki)