Orix Buffaloes 's second-year right-handed pitcher, Reiji Higashiyama, has made a comeback after undergoing Tommy John (TJ) surgery and is continuing to make a case for being reinstated to the main roster.
"It's really fun, after all. Being able to baseball is the greatest happiness." Higashiyama, who had just finished his fourth appearance on the mound in a minor league game, spoke about his current feelings with a smile.
Higashiyama joined Orix Buffaloes in the 2024 draft as the 5th pick, coming from Marugame High School (Kagawa Prefecture), Doshisha University, and ENEOS. He is a right-handed pitcher whose weapons are a fastball with a high hop component that reaches a maximum speed of 151 km/h from short stop arm, and change-up. He was expected to be an immediate contributor, but he injured his elbow in his second open game appearance against The Giants (Kyocera Dome) and was sidelined. He initially seemed to be recovering, but the pain did not go away, and he was faced with the choice of conservative treatment or Tommy John surgery. As a college graduate and former corporate league player who was expected to be an immediate contributor, he had great anxiety about undergoing major surgery without any track record, but he decided that "it would be better to get rid of the anxiety and play baseball for as long as possible."
His recovery from surgery has been smooth. He began throwing in a net in late September and made his return to competitive play in a practice game against an adult team on May 22nd of this year, about a year after the surgery. He made his first appearance in a minor league regular season against Hiroshima on June 14th (Tokushima), hit a total of 4 innings over 4 inning, allowing 2 hits, strike out 5, BB 1, saving 1, and ERA of 0.00. What is particularly noteworthy is that he has achieved results in close games (1-0, 1-0, 0-0, 4-3). fastball velocity has returned to 149 km/h, and his change-up which allows him to get ahead in count and induce swings and misses, has become more precise with each game. He has appeared in 8 games, including practice games, and has consistently achieved good results, allowing only 2 runs in total.
"Compared to the beginning, my feel for it has improved a lot. I feel like I'm gradually getting a better sense of release and control," Higashiyama said. He also changed his form to prevent injuries. "I'm not relying on my elbow as much, and I'm using the center of my body to throw in a way that doesn't put strain on my elbow," he said.
The deadline for being registered as a professional player is the end of this month. "As for myself, I just need to prepare and continue pitching my own game." He will face the challenges he must overcome, such as pitching on consecutive days and pitching multiple innings, with an open mind.
Interview and text by Masaki Kitano
