Lotte's Ryusei Miyazaki has played in 32 games so far, with a batting average of .160, but in June alone, his batting average jumps to .333 (2 out of 6).

In the game against DeNA on the 13th, he said, "I didn't have many at-bats, so I went for it. Everyone was telling me to hit home run while I was getting ready behind the dugout, so I'm glad I was able to do it." In his first at-bat in the 7th inning with no outs and no runner on base, with the strike 5-15, he hit a 139 km/h fork thrown by Naoki Wakamatsu to the right-center field stands for his first professional Home Run.

Regarding his first professional Home Run, he said, "I was honestly happy, like, 'It finally happened,' and my batting practice felt good. I was given an opportunity to bat, and I felt like I was able to make a solid swing."

In the Rakuten Eagles game on the 21st, where he came in as a substitute with third baseman defense, in his first at-bat with no outs in the 8th inning with a score of 6-4 and no outs runner, Ren Kajiya threw the fi fork fth pitch from 2-strike with a doble to right, and in the game Nippon-Ham on the 24th, he came in as a pinch hitter and went 2-7 with one out in the 8th runner In a no-ball situation, Taisei Yanagawa sent off the ninth pitch fork from 3 balls and 2 strike, calmly choosing Walk.

starting line-up has only started in three games so far. What does he focus on during pre-game practice and minor league games in order to get results in such limited at-bats?

"Since I can't see the ball well, I'm trying to hit a lot of fast straight balls, like the ones we have indoors, and be proactive. With so few at-bats, waiting around would be tough. I'm trying to be aggressive and hit the ball I'm aiming for with one swing. I'm doing that in the dugout too, and I'm making sure I'm well-prepared until I get to play in the game."

During games, he studies by observing "how pitcher is attacking, how fielder are getting a start, what kind of pitches they are waiting for, and how they are batting," so that he can understand the flow and situation of the game from the bench, so that he will be ready whenever his turn comes.

◆ Batting form

Looking at his batting form, he used to hit with his leg raised, but just before the season started, he said, "I consulted with my batting coach, and he said that a sliding step might be better, so I'm thinking of trying that for a while," and he started hitting with a sliding step.

In an interview on April 3rd, he said, "Once I get used to shuffling my feet, I'll try lifting my feet, and I'll try out different things and find the timing that works best for me each day." However, since the game Seibu Lions on May 1st, he has been lifting his feet again, saying, "My coach told me it was okay to lift my feet, and I felt that it was easier for me to hit with my feet lifted, so I went back to that."

◆ fastball correspondence

Last season, his first as a professional, he cited dealing with "high-quality fastball thrown by first-team pitcher" as a challenge when facing professional pitcher.

During the spring training camp in Miyakonojo, he reflected on his handling of fastball, saying, "I didn't swing and miss (during live batting practice), so I think I'm moving in the right direction. However, I was fouling them off and not making solid contact with the ball on the first try, so next time I want to prepare to make solid contact with the ball on the first try and work on correcting my technique to achieve that."

Regarding the practice games and exhibition games, he said about fastball of the first-team pitcher, "There have been times when I've been able to hit the fastballs well, so I think that's a good thing. On the other hand, while I've been able to hit breaking ball well, I haven't been able to hit the breaking balls as well as before, so there's a discrepancy there, and I want to work on that while paying attention to the pitch selection."

While acknowledging that he hasn't been hitting breaking ball as well as before, he recalled a massive home run he hit to right field in the 7th inning with two runner and no runners on base during the game against the Czech Republic on February 26th. In his first at-bat, with the score 12-4, he hit the second pitch, slider from right-pitcher Home Run, into the right field stands. He said, "I was aiming for a fastball, but breaking ball pitch was perfect. I wasn't feeling great, but the hit was good. It wasn't the kind of batting I was aiming for. If it had been a fastball, I think it would have been a foul ball or a swing and a miss, so I need to start my swing earlier, or swing earlier, and try to improve my technique."

Since the season began, in the game against Nippon-Ham on April 2nd, in the 7th inning with one out and no runner on base, he hit a 150 km/ fastball on the outside corner thrown by Kenta Uehara to left field for a single in his third at hit strike. However, he wasn't satisfied, saying, "I feel like I haven't been able to hit as well as I'd hoped. I want to continue to experiment and try different things as I play."

Regarding his current ability to handle fastball, he said, "I haven't had many at-bats so I can't really say anything yet, but I'm trying out various timings, so I'll see how it goes when I'm at bat."

He's also starting to produce results at the plate despite the limited opportunities he's had. "I know the chances are few, but I want to make the most of them and contribute to win in any way I can." He made the most of his one at-bat after coming off the bench, and he's now intently eyeing more opportunities at the plate and to be in starting line-up lineup.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita