Akio Saito and Hiroki Nomura, who appeared on 'Professional baseball News 2026' broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on September 24, mentioned Yugo Maeda of the Softbank Hawks.

Mr. Saito highly praised his pitching technique, saying, 'Even though he's in his third year, he has a sense of stability, and his pitch sequence and content make it feel like he's been racking up dozens of wins in the pros for many years.'

Mr. Nomura was surprised, saying, '12 wins. And this one loss was only recently. Just looking at this, he's 11 games over .500.'

In his third year out of high school, Yu Maeda pitched 104 innings across 18 games this season, recording 12 wins and 1 loss with a 1.99 ERA, contributing significantly to the Softbank Hawks' consecutive league titles. He is the announced starting pitcher for the game against Lotte starting at 18:00, and in tonight's appearance, he aims for his 13th win, which would tie him for the league lead.

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"