◆ Practice game: The Giants 3-3 Lotte (17th, Naha) = Called due to rain in the 7th inning =

Lotte's second-round draft pick, left-handed Kaito Mori (Meiji University), made his debut in a real game, getting off to an excellent start by completely closer the three hitter.

A dull "bang" sound echoed through the white roof covering the infield part of the stadium. 6 times. Mori, who took the mound from this inning, threw a 146 km fastball to the inside corner. When Izumiguchi's bat was broken and hit with a grounder, Richard followed with a 145 km fastball. He finished Aramaki with two ground balls on 5 pitches. He calmly looked back on his first appearance in the actual game, which summarized 1 inning with 7 pitches, saying, "I wasn't too nervous when I got up to mound, and I feel like bullpen was the most nervous."

He threw a fastball with a top speed of 146 km/h and breaking ball into the zone with a good tempo, showing off his good no walk and not walking a batter. "I pitched with the mindset that it was okay if he got hit rather than giving up walk." What caught his eye was the 135 km/h two-seam two seam fastball he threw to Aramaki with count at 1-1. The pitch sank to the inside corner, causing him to take a half swing. Manager Saburo also praised him, saying, "It's great that he can throw his strong two-seam two seam fastball properly to left-handed hitter."

At Meiji University, he pitched in 28 games in the Tokyo Big6 Baseball League, recording 14 wins and 2 losses ERA of 1.46. He is expected to be an immediate contributor and a member of the starting rotation. Naturally, his goal is to make the opening day rotation. "My goal is to make the rotation, so I will work towards that," he said, his goal unwavering. He gave himself a score of "about 80 points" for his first appearance. "I still need to see how I do when pitching longer inning, and I need to improve the accuracy of breaking ball." He aims to complete the remaining 20 points by the start of the season and achieve his goal with a perfect score of 100 points. (Masami Akimoto)

◆Mori Kaito (born September 14, 2003, Fukuoka Prefecture). 22 years old. At Fukuoka University Ohori, he participated in the Spring Senbatsu Tournament in his third year, contributing to the team's advancement to the quarterfinals as the ace pitcher. At Meiji University, he pitched in 28 games in the Tokyo Big Six League, recording 14 wins and 2 losses ERA 1.46. In his fourth year, he won six games with ERA of 1.34, earning him a Best Nine award. He was also selected for the Samurai Japan University National Team. He was selected second overall by Lotte in the 2013 draft, and joined the team with a signing bonus of 70 million yen and an annual salary of 12 million yen (estimated). He is 177 cm tall and weighs 77 kg. He throws and bats left-handed. number is 13.