Softbank Hawks' Yuki Yanagita has been rapidly raising his batting average this summer.

Yanagita struggled early in the season with a batting average in the low .200s, and was hitting .247 at the end of June. However, he regained his form in July and raised his average to .263 by the end of the first half of the season.

Entering August, that momentum accelerated. After recording 3 hits in the game against the Rakuten Eagles on the 1st, he went hitless in the game against the Rakuten Eagles on the following day, the 2nd, but then recorded 3 hits in the game against Nippon-Ham on the 4th. He has appeared in 18 games in August, and there have been as many as 5 games with 3 or more hits, bringing his monthly batting average to .429 so far.

His batting average has been rising rapidly, and before anyone knew it, he had climbed to fourth in the league at .296. All eyes will be on his performance at the plate to see if he can reach the required number of plate appearances and finish the season with a .300 average for the first time since 2021.