Lotte's second-round draft pick in the development league, Kaito Takahashi (Shikoku ILplus, Tokushima), has pitched 8 innings in 8 games in the minor leagues so far, closer 2 saves and ERA of 0.00.

In the Rakuten Eagles second team game on May 5th, when he took the mound in the ninth inning of 4-6, he swung the leading Watters with a fork of 134 kg from 1 ball 2 strike struck out, followed by a Kohiro Komori with a slider of 132 kg from 3 balls 2 strike struck out, and finally Soshi Yoshino slider He closer 3 pitches struck out and 1 inning to struck out in a row.

◆ Consistent pitch from the start of the season

Softbank Hawks The Giants In an interview on November 21 last year, he said, "I had a game with Softbank Hawks in April, and Kurihara was in the game, but it gave me a lot of confidence to have two at bats closer against a player who is playing well in the first team," and on April 16 last year, he started an interchange game against in Chikugo. Softbank Hawks In a 0-0 first inning game with no outs runner, he hit Ryoya Kurihara out of the middle with a 128 km slider from 2 balls and 1 strike. In the next 0-0 3rd inning game with two outs and runners on first and second, he hit fastball out of the third pitch from 1 ball and 1 strike with 146 km to get a ground ball, gaining confidence. He was a very confident hitter.

During the rookie joint voluntary training, he entered bullpen for the first time on January 23rd, throwing 20 pitches with catcher standing, saying, "I think it was just the right timing." He spent the spring training camp with the farm team, and pitched one inning in a friendly match against the Czech Republic on February 23rd, giving up one runs.

In the 2nd team game on March 14, Nippon-Ham, when he made his first appearance in the 2nd team regular season, he made a 2-6 7th inning Kotaro Kiyomiya with a 2-6 lead from 2 strike to the 3rd pitch with a 146 km fastball, followed by a pinch hitter Yuki Umebayashi with a 2-ball 1 strike to the 4th pitch with a 147 km fastball, and a Naoki Arizono with a 1-ball 1 strike to the 3rd pitch with a 146 km fastball and a right-handed fly and 1 inning with a three-way retirement.

In his first appearance on the mound, Takahashi faced Kiyomiya, who had already made an impact in the first team. Takahashi reflected, "Being able to face such a good batter and compete with my own pitches was a great experience, and I think it will help me improve."

In this appearance, he will be paired with Toshiya Sato as his battery partner, and the farm team also has Tatsuhiro Tamura, who has extensive experience playing in the first team. Kai Takahashi expressed his gratitude, saying, "He has experience playing in the first team, so he gives me clear and precise advice on how to use my fastball and breaking ball, and I'm learning a lot from him."

In a game against Rakuten Eagles 's minor league team on March 18, he showed ingenuity by occasionally throwing quick pitches even when there were no runner on base, disrupting hitter' timing, and runs one scoreless inning. In a game against Seibu Lions 's minor league team on March 21, he took the mound in the 9th inning with a 4-1 lead and a save situation. Although he gave up runs due to an error, he managed to hold onto the lead and earned his first professional save.

In the Oisix game on March 29th, Shunta Tanaka took a swing struck out from 2 balls and 2 strike without a 10-1 runner in the ninth inning of 10-1, and the slider fell vertically to the in-course 129 km vertically on the 6th pitch.

Before turning pro, he said he was confident in slider, and in an interview on March 27, he said, "I want to increase the speed of my pitches a little more, and I'm working on slider that can get swings and misses." Now, a month later, he shows confidence, saying, "I've always been confident in slider, so that struck out (struck out Tanaka in Oisix game) wasn't that unusual for me, or rather, it was good. It's a pitch that can get one struck out."

In a game against Softbank Hawks Hawks' minor league team on April 28th, he took mound in the 9th inning with the score 1-0. He threw a 134 km/h fork on the inside corner on the sixth pitch to the leadoff batter, Ihine, with a 3 struck out ball, 2-strike, and it resulted in a swinging strikeout. "I've been practicing it since I joined the team, but it never worked out in games until this game, so I think it was pretty much the best I've thrown it so far," he said, satisfied with fork.

After that, he allowed hit and two Walk, putting the bases bases loaded, but he said, "I was more conscious and nervous than in a normal game, but I'm glad I was able to closer them scoreless," and in the end he got Osuna to ground out to third base to earn his second save.

Looking ahead, he expressed his determination, saying, "I believe that if I can pitch as I have been without consciously thinking about it, I can become a regular player." Among Takahashi Kai's classmates are Ryusei Terachi and Yuto Kimura. He will work hard to produce results in order to secure a regular player registration as soon as possible.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita