Lotte's Yuta Kaneda is hitting fastball back.

On August 2, in the Yakult second team game, with two outs and runners on first and second in the seventh inning, in his fourth at-bat with two outs and runners on second and second pitch, Taiyo Yamazaki hit the second pitch from the first pitch, a 149 km/h fastball to the right field stands, and line drive a Home Run of the second team. On August Chunichi 6, in the second team game on August 6, in the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on first, in his fourth at-bat, Mejia threw the third pitch from two balls, totaling 147 km/h fastball, Home Run in the middle of the right field stands. On August 16, in the Rakuten Eagles second team game, with two outs and no runner in the ninth inning, he hit a doble to right-center that beat Chiharu Tanaka 's first pitch, an outside 152 km/h fastball.

Regarding his approach to fastball, Kaneda said, “It depends on the situation, count, and the opponent pitcher—whether I go for breaking ball or hit it straight—but basically, I try to hit it straight.“While moving in straight, I’ll hit a breaking ball, or like in the recent Yakult game, I’ll move in straight and hit a fork in front of right field. Since I believe the straight approach is the foundation, I think I’m able to hit straight because I’m moving in straight,” he explained.

Among those at-bats, the one from the August 6 minor league game against the Chunichi—a Home Run off Mejia—stood out. “It was a 2-ball count, and the sign was to swing. I decided to go for it when the pitch I was actively looking for came, so I was able to get a solid swing on it and make good contact at the right moment. I think that’s why it turned out well.”

doble he hit to right-center field off Chiharu Tanaka in Rakuten Eagles minor league game on August 16th was also a sharp hit. "Recently, my batting coach and others have been telling me to be conscious of the first pitch of the game, the first pitch of each at-bat, even in practice, and in that game I came in as a substitute and it was the first pitch of my first at-bat, so I was conscious of it and focused. I was aiming for a fastball, so I'm glad I was able to hit it back on the first try," he recalled.

When I interviewed him on July 26th, he mentioned "how to use his left hand," but I wonder if he's actually able to push with his left hand when hitting the ball.

"Both home run in Rakuten Eagles minor league game on the 16th and the one I hit with Vantelin had a kind of drive, or rather, it wasn't a ball that was curving towards the first base foul zone, so I think I'm doing it right. I've been practicing from the opposite field, so I think it's going well so far."

Although he wasn't able to return to the main roster by the end of July, he has a batting average of .348 (8 At Bat 23 hit), 2 Home Run, and 7 RBI in the minor leagues so far in August. "Hitting is the most important thing, but I'm also trying not to be too passive or focus too much on the details of my swings, and I hope that good results will follow." He is determined to get results and take on each game with that in mind.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita