Yusuke Sawayama (23), a pitcher from Yamaha who was selected as the third-round pick by the Seibu Lions, received a post-draft visit on the 12th and expressed his enthusiasm, saying, 'I could really feel their high expectations, and I want to show it through my results. I hope to become a pitcher who represents the world of baseball.'

The 187-centimeter, 90-kilogram tall left-hander received a draft selection greeting from Seibu Lions Deputy General Manager Kosaku Akimoto and scout Toshiya Adachi at the Yamaha headquarters in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka. Boasting a maximum speed of 152 km/h, he proudly stated his strengths: 'I believe my fastball is my greatest weapon, so my style is to push with the fastball while getting batters out with breaking balls.'

He participated in the WBC held in March as a representative of Brazil, starting two games including the match against Italy where they reached the final four, and showed a great performance with 8 innings and zero runs. At Yamaha, he is also an office worker belonging to the Wind, String, and Percussion Digital Production Department of the Musical Instrument Business Division, performing 'clerical work to support the production of wind, string, and percussion instruments.' He also possesses a dexterity that allowed him to improve his skills on the ukulele and acoustic guitar, which he started last year, to the point where he can 'mostly play by looking at guitar chords' in just one year.

General Manager Akimoto, who was also present, analyzed the player's style, saying, 'In terms of height and pitching form, he might be close to Natsuki Takeuchi. He has a bit of the image of Shunsuke Sato, but also the image of Takeuchi.' He expressed high expectations, stating, 'We drafted him with the evaluation that he is ready to contribute immediately as both a starter and a reliever, so I want him to be active starting as early as next year. Since he is a tall player with great scale, I really want him to grow significantly, and we intend to nurture him properly toward that goal. I have expectations for him to work hard as a member of The Lions for a long time.'