Masaki Saito and Hatsuhiko Tsuji, who appeared on the Fuji TV ONE program 'Professional baseball News 2026' broadcast on the 5th, discussed Kosei Shoji of the Rakuten Eagles, who won the title for the most strike out this season.

Mr. Saito evaluated him, saying, "He has been pitching very well in recent games, hasn't he? There was a period where he couldn't win, but he has rallied in the second half. It's becoming an exciting prospect for next year. His fastball is fast, he has a fork, and I think he is a truly good pitcher. With the combination of the fork and the fastball, making the batter conscious of the fastball makes the fork more effective."

Tsuji said, "To get a struck out, you have to throw at least three pitches. What happened a lot this year was giving up a long ball in the final stages. I feel like we gave up too many long balls," noting that the 20 Home Run allowed was the worst in the league.

Tomotaka Sakaguchi, who served as the program MC, said, "He is a pitcher with very high expectations from the team, and I want him to become the ace in the future. His ability to strike out batters was good, but if he can improve in critical situations and other areas going forward, he is a pitcher who can build up wins. I think his breaking balls are excellent."

Shoji, in his fourth professional season this year, pitched 159 innings across 25 games, recording a record of 9 wins and 9 losses, 171 strike outs, and an ERA of 3.45.

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