Lotte pitcher Yuto Yoshikawa will make his first start of the season on the 18th against Rakuten Eagles (at Rakuten Eagles Mobile Saikyo Park Miyagi).

A left-handed pitcher who joined the Lotte Marines as the first overall pick in the 2022 Development Draft out of Urawa Reimei High School in Saitama. Last season, he earned a promotion to the active roster in late July and recorded his first professional win on August 21 against the Rakuten Eagles (ZOZO).

So far this season, he has appeared in 11 games in the minor leagues (7 of which were starts), with a record of 3 wins and 0 losses and ERA 2.47. The left-hander said that in the minor leagues, "controlling my fastball is my top priority, and I've been working on how to combine that with breaking ball and how to get batters out." Looking ahead to his first appearance on mound in a major league game this season, he said with confidence, "It's the beginning of the week, so I want to pitch a solid five innings, and if possible, I'd like to go as far as I can, into the seventh or eighth inning."