pitcher lived up to expectations in the preseason games and became the core of bullpen after the season started?

pitcher who take the mound in many games during spring training are highly likely to be expected to be a key part of bullpen once the regular season begins. This time, we will introduce pitcher who recorded the most appearances on their teams during spring training in 2025, and the results each pitcher achieved after the start of the season, and explore pitcher were able to translate their frequent appearances in spring training into success after the season began.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham

　Yukiya Saito Although pitcher 's ERA in spring training was a disappointing 5.40, he delivered an outstanding performance in the regular season, posting a 1.35 ERA in 47 games. He also served as closer in the postseason, performing even better than the previous year and becoming one of the key players in bullpen.

Both pitchers showed perfect pitch in the preseason games, with ERA of 0.00. Seigi Tanaka pitcher has been pitch brilliantly since the season began, with ERA of 1.32 in 49 games. Similarly, ERA in the preseason was 0.00. Nao Miyanishi pitcher had a good ERA of 1.93. Takahide Ikeda pitcher recorded strike out rate of 9.66. Tsubasa Namatame pitcher have also recorded above-average numbers since the season began, demonstrating the high level of adaptability among the experienced pitcher.

First year after transferring Koji Fukutani pitcher had a great performance in the preseason games with ERA of 0.00, but in the regular season, he was unable to increase his pitching opportunities, with ERA of 3.77 in 14 appearances. Koki Matsuoka While pitcher lacked consistency in both the preseason and the regular season, it is worth noting that most of pitcher who recorded the most appearances on the team during the preseason continued to perform well on the first-team stage after the season began.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles

　Shoma Fujihira pitcher in eight games during the preseason, the most in Pacific League. ERA in the preseason was a lackluster 8.59, but after the season started, he appeared in 62 games, the third most in the league, with a 2.11 ERA and strike out rate of 9.96. He recorded 21 hold and 12 saves, playing a vital role in the team's winning pattern and literally supporting bullpen throughout the year.

Saitama Seibu Lions

First year in Japan Wingenter pitcher showed a glimpse of his potential even before the season started, posting a 1.50 ERA strike out in six exhibition games. He pitch up to expectations in the regular season as well, ERA and a 13.31 strike out rate in 49 games, and recording 31 hold as a setup man. He proved that the excellent pitch he showed in exhibition games was the real deal.

　Shunsuke Sato pitcher had a good season, appearing in over 45 games for two consecutive years from 2023 with ERA of 2.50 or lower. Last year, he also had a respectable performance in the preseason, appearing in 6 games with ERA of 3.00. However, after the season started, injuries affected him, resulting in a disappointing season with ERA in the 6s in 20 games.

Chiba Lotte Marines

　pitcher Shota Suzuki pitch perfectly in the open season, appearing in 6 games with ERA of 0.00, but struggled in the regular season, posting ERA of 4.82 in 29 games, failing to replicate his previous year's performance of ERA of 0.73. pitcher Riku Kikuchi also pitched well in the open season with ERA of 2.45, but after the season started, he fell into a slump with ERA of 5.32, a significant decline from his 2.25 ERA the previous year.

Meanwhile, pitcher Rikuto Yokoyama built on his excellent performance in the preseason with ERA of 1.35, achieving his first career 50 appearances and maintaining pitch ERA of 2.08. Midway through the season, he also took on the important role of closer, recording 20 hold 12 saves, and played a crucial role in supporting bullpen, which lacked stability due to a series of injuries.

Orix Buffaloes

　pitcher Soichiro Yamazaki lacked consistency with ERA of 4.76, but he appeared in a team-high 6 games during the preseason. After the season started, his performance was inconsistent with ERA of 4.28, but his number of appearances increased significantly to 28 from 7 the previous year. He showcased his strike out ability with strike out rate of 10.54, and recorded a monthly ERA of 3.00 or less for four consecutive months from July onwards, making it a year in which he laid the foundation for a full comeback.

Fukuoka Softbank

　pitcher Yuki Matsumoto struggled in the preseason, posting a 6.35 ERA in 6 games, but after the season started, he showed more consistency than usual, posting a 1.07 ERA and a 9.95 strike out rate in 51 games. He recorded a league-leading 44 hold points and won his first career title as the best reliever pitcher, becoming one of the key players who led the team to a league championship and the Japan Series title as a setup man.

pitcher 　Hernandez pitched well in spring training with ERA of 1.50, but after the season started, ERA strike out to 3.35 and strikeout rate to 9.60 in 42 games, down from his 2.25 ERA and 13.50 strike out rate the previous year. pitcher Shunsuke Iwai showed consistent pitch in spring training with ERA of 3.52 and maintained a good ERA of 2.89 after the season started, but was limited to just 8 appearances due to the depth of pitcher staff.

In some cases, a team's pitcher strategy can be glimpsed even during the preseason games.

pitcher Saito, pitcher Fujihira, Wingenter pitcher, pitcher Yokoyama, Yutaka Matsumoto pitcher and many other clubs supported the team as a winning pattern pitcher was seen. In addition, the team's policy of using pitcher is also an interesting factor, which can be glimpsed at the time of the open game.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham each pitcher pitched one fewer games than other clubs, and the league's seven pitcher tied for the most numbers. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham was the only pitcher in Pacific League to pitch in more than 50 games in the regular season, and the policy of not putting a burden on a specific pitcher was shown from the open game stage.

On the other hand, Tohoku Rakuten Eagles 's Fujihira pitcher pitched in 8 games, the most in the league. Five of the top eight pitchers in the 2025 pitching rankings were occupied by pitcher of Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, and it can be said that the team's policy of prioritizing strong pitcher was also shown at the time of the open game.

In this year's open match, Kosei Shoji pitcher of Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Yuto Kimura pitcher of Chiba Lotte Marines reached the stipulated innings pitched. And Ryu Kutani pitcher in Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Osuna in Fukuoka Softbank pitcher and Hernandez pitcher pitched in eight games, the most in the league. This season, we would like to expect that many pitcher will appear in full rotation as the main pitcher by connecting the heavy use in the open game to the momentum after the opening.