Lotte's Kyuto Ueda has played in 19 farm team games so far, posting outstanding results in the minor leagues with a batting average of .362, 2 Home Run runs, 9 RBI, and an OPS of 1.029, yet he has been going back and forth between the major and minor leagues. He has produced results in the minor leagues. Now all that's left is for him to produce results in the major leagues. Ueda himself is looking ahead, saying, "I want to persevere until I really get a chance, and keep working hard even if it's difficult."

Ueda made the opening day roster for the first team, but did not play in any games and was removed from the first-team roster on March 29. In the four farm league games he played after being demoted, he said, "I wasn't really able to get my timing right, so I was trying out different timing methods to find what suited me." He tried hitting without a step and lifting his leg to find the timing that worked for him, and despite this, he had a batting average of .636, RBI, and 3 Walk.

In the game Oisix on April 5th, he said, "As a team, we've been working on this since last fall's training camp, so I think we've been able to put it into practice as much as possible in actual games, and I hope to be able to show it in first-team games as well," and he actively tried to advance to the next base, including stealing two stolen base in one game.

Even when playing defense, he didn’t play his usual position at third base; instead, he played shortstop (second baseman). In the game against the Oisix on April 4, with the score 5–2 in the eighth inning and two outs, he made a backhand stop (catch) on a ground ball hit by Tensuke Higa (runner) toward shortstop (second baseman) and threw it to first base for the out."I don't think that far ahead; I just focus on taking it one pitch at a time and getting one out at a time."

When he was playing second baseman in the minor leagues right after the season started, he said, "I think one of the good things about playing second baseman is that you can see catcher 's signs, so I try to move in a way that suits me while keeping an eye on them," and he was able to make outs on hits that looked like they would get through.

He demonstrated his growth in all aspects of the game—batting, running, and defense—and was called up to the first team again on April 10.In his first appearance of the season that same day against the Seibu Lions, batting third in the lineup (second baseman), he took the field at starting line-up. In his second at-bat, he hit a doble, marking his first hit of the season. In the game against the Seibu Lions on the 12th, he achieved his first multi-hit game hit of the season. Although he got off to a good start, after this hit, he failed to hit, and on April 23, he was removed from the first-team roster for the second time.

He played in eight games in the minor leagues again, impressing with his batting average of .313, and was promoted to the first team for the second time on May 8th. He immediately got two hit in the game against Softbank Hawks that same day, and the following day, the 9th, he had his first Home Run of the season and recorded multiple hit in two consecutive games, saying, "I was able to think simply and time my swings well. I'm glad it turned out well."

In the game against Nippon-Ham on May 12, he said, "I didn't think too much about it, I just went for the timing of the fastball and was able to hit slider like that, so I think I'm in good condition and I hope to continue like this. (At Zozo Marine Stadium) Come to think of it, this is my first time. I'm glad I finally got a hit at Marine Stadium." In his third at-bat in the 7th inning with no outs and no runner on base and the score 1-2, he hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot to right field off the second pitch, slider thrown by Hiromi Ito after one strike, to tie the game temporarily.

Looking ahead to this season, he has set "I want to raise my OPS" as his goal, and during the spring training camp in Miyakonojo in February, he analyzed what he needs to do to raise his Walk, saying, "Last year, there were many times when I swung at single hit I wasn't good at and was able to get walks. There were also times when I was aiming for singles and thought I should have hit for more power. I think it's something like that."

Having focused on hitting for power, Home Run two home runs when he was promoted for the second time. "I'm being told that I should be hitting for power now, but I'm focusing on making sure I can execute my swing properly at the plate. As a result, I'm hitting more for power, and I hope to continue doing that," he said, showing that he was gaining confidence.

On the other hand, he also mentioned his challenges, saying, "I still don't have many RBI, so I'm not getting many hits in clutch situations. When I do get a chance, I want to be able to produce results. I want to do my best to score as many runs as possible."

In his first two years as a professional, Ueda has been strong in clutch situations, with a batting average of .357 with runners in scoring position in his first year and .333 in his second year last season. When asked in an interview on May 15 if the opposing pitchers' pitching runner on base or not."

Against the left-handed pitcher he was a challenge, in the May 22 game against Rakuten Eagles, in his third at-bat with one out and no runner in the seventh inning, he was pushed down by two pitches to Sora Suzuki but firmly held off the slider and fastball to the outside field, and after three balls and two strike, he sent off the eighth pitch, a 131 km/h slider outside pitch Walk It was a batting with substance and so on.

However, after hitting his second Home Run in the game against Nippon-Ham on May 12th, he went five consecutive games without hit, and on May 28th he was removed from the active roster for the third time.

After relegation, he dominated the farm team. On May 29, in a game against Hiroshima's farm team, in the sixth inning with no outs and Ryoju Okamura a runner on first with a 5-0 lead, he completely stole Yasumi Kudo's pitch motion and hit a stolen base to second. In his fifth at-bat with two outs and runners on first and third in the eighth inning with an 11-2 lead, Tatsuya Matsumoto threw a 115 km/h curveball to right field for a three-run homer.

In a game against Yakult Swallows' minor league team on June 6th, in the first inning with two outs and a runner on second strike, Aoyagi Koyo threw the fourth pitch, a high 138 km/h fastball, and the moment he hit it towards the right field foul pole, it was clear it was a massive two-run homer. He played in five games, batting .364 with Home Run and seven RBI, and returned to the first team on June 10th.

starting line-up He went hitless in the games against the Chunichi on the 10th and DeNA on the 12th, but in his second at-bat against DeNA on the 13th—with the score 0–15 in the fourth inning and two outs with runners on first and second—he drove a fastball pitch from Kentaro Shinoki (1 strike) into right-center field for an RBI single."I think it went well, and I want to keep working hard so I can keep this up," he said after delivering that "one hit" in a key moment.

When asked after pre-game practice on the 14th if he felt that a hit with runners in scoring position could change the momentum of the game, he said with conviction, "Yes, I hope things will get better, and I hope that I can keep my mindset the same and not change it even when I'm at bat."

In the game against DeNA that day, in his second at-bat with no outs and no outs in the fifth inning with a 1-2 tie, runner no outs, he said, "I was losing the whole time swinging straight, and Saburo told me to go straight, so I stood at the plate thinking about it. I got a good result, so I'm glad," said Shuto Ogata on the fourth pitch, thrown from 1 ball and 2 strike, throwing a 152 km/h fastball He hit his third solo to tie the score at the right pole.

Even when defending, he received knocks with second baseman during pre-game practice and said, "I've always been playing in the farm league, so I don't want to think about big plays and just focus on getting out one by one." As he said after practice, he also made good use of defense opportunities in second baseman.

All that's left is for him to "continue" and produce results in the first team. But that consistency is the hard part. However, he has been working on the areas he considers his weaknesses since last fall, and has been moving forward through trial and error. "If you ask me if I've been able to contribute significantly to the team yet, I don't think so, so I want to do what I can do every day and do what I need to do, and hopefully that will lead to the team's win." This time, we want him to seize the opportunity and show us his clutch hitting and many long-hanging parabolic trajectories. The Marines fans are looking forward to it.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita