"I'm in good form right now."

This is according to Yuto Nakayama (Mito Keimei High School), the Lotte Marines' first-round developmental draft pick.

Nakayama achieved perfect game in the Ibaraki Prefecture tournament qualifiers against Mizuki last summer. He is a clever pitcher with good control, and he changes his timing depending on hitter. During catch practice at the rookie joint training camp, he said, "I've had good control since I was little, so I've always continued to throw to the other person's chest," and he was throwing controlled balls to the other person's chest.

He is currently practicing pitch in bullpen. In bullpen on March 19th, he was throwing with a windup, but in bullpen on April 12th, he was throwing without a windup. When asked about the reason for this, he said, "I change my form quite a bit depending on how I feel each day," so perhaps he decided that throwing without a windup was better for him in bullpen on the 12th.

"Yes, I guess I try to be conscious of it when we're playing catch or something like that."

In bullpen, he has set a theme for his pitching: "I've started throwing breaking ball, so I'm working on being able to throw both my fastball and breaking ball well. I'm also focusing on my control."

◆ Body building

One crucial element for success on the professional stage is physical conditioning. pitcher who turned pro in their first year out of high school, including Atsuki Taneichi of the WBC Japan national team, have all built up their bodies to compete at the professional level.

When asked what he focuses on when getting in shape, Nakayama said, "Lately, I've been trying to gain weight, and I've been working hard on weight training." His weight has been steadily increasing, and as of the interview on April 12th, he told us he weighed 67 or 68 kilograms.

As he grew physically, his fastball speed also increased. His fastest pitch in high school was 146 km/h, but after turning pro, he improved his personal best by 2 km/h to 148 km/h.

Currently, his main focus is on physical conditioning, but he shows enthusiasm for making his debut in a game, saying, "First, I need to pitch in a game. I want to work towards the goal of pitching."

He is able to dedicate himself to daily practice, including bullpen pitch practice and physical conditioning, with the image of pitching in an actual game in mind. When asked what kind of pitcher he wants to become in the future, he said, "I haven't thought about the future yet, but I'm aiming to be registered as a regular player," setting his sights on being registered as a regular player.

If he is registered as a regular player, he will be able to pitch on the first team stage. Fans are looking forward to seeing him, in a few years, supporting The Marines 'pitcher staff alongside Yuto Kimura (two years older), Haruya Tanaka Genki Ishigaki three years older), Kaito Mori (four years older), and his classmates Raito Okumura (Yokohama High School). For that to happen, how he spends this time is important. He needs to firmly establish the foundation for succeeding on the first team stage in the future.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita