I think it was good.

Lotte's Yuto Yoshikawa, in his first appearance of the season against the Rakuten Eagles on August 18, threw powerful fastballs as usual against first-team hitters.

The average velocity of his fastball, which was in the low 140 km/h range until last year, has increased; in his previous appearance against the Rakuten Eagles, he clocked a maximum speed of 153 km/h, and his fastball averaged 147 km/h. Regarding the reason his fastball has improved, he analyzed, "Simply put, my body has gained a certain amount of power, but last year I was sort of feeling my way through, and there were strong aspects of anxiety at the start of games. I've switched my mindset a bit, moving from a mindset of 'I might get hit' to a feeling of 'I probably won't get hit,' and being able to go in with that attitude is why I think things have been going well this season."

In his first appearance, he threw 90 pitches over 5 innings, hit strike out 2, and BB up 3 runs. "I think my fastball was strong and I used my cutter well," he said, showing that he was able to demonstrate on the first-team mound what he had been working on in the minor leagues.

Heading into this season, he expressed his plan to turn the slider he threw until last season into a curveball, the cutter into a slider, and additionally develop a new cutter. Since the season began, he has been throwing the cutter even in minor league games. "The cutter (in my first appearance) was good, but in situations where I could have overpowered them with a fastball, it was good that I could throw them off with a slightly slower, breaking ball when they were looking for a fastball. There were quite a few swings and misses, so I think it was good," he said, having gained a positive feeling.

In the third inning with no outs and a runner on first and a 1-2 score, Ryosuke Tatsumi swung struck out from 1 ball 2 strike at 128 km/h slider outside, and in the 3rd inning with one out and a runner on first 1-2, got Rui Muneyama struck out swinging from 2 balls 2 strike to 126 km/h slider.

I think it probably wasn't on their radar. I hadn't thrown it much in the minors, and even in the majors, it was just at the level of 'let's give it a try,' so I think it was good that I could attack a spot the batter wasn't expecting.

Until last season, change-up was a low-priority standings ball in the farm team early in the season, but on August 4, in the Chunichi second-team game, he got Rintaro Tsujimoto, the leadoff scorer in the sixth inning with a 0-0 score, swinging struck out at change-up with a 1-ball 2-strike, and in the Nippon-Ham second-team game on August 11, with two outs and a runner on second in the third inning with a 0-2 score, he Kane Edokpolo a 2-1 strike and swung and missed the timing at the change-up of the 121 km/h course, then struck the ball struck out on the fifth pitch, 123 km/h change-up.

"I use the change-up against batters who look like they could hit a home run, those with big swings, or those who are clearly looking for a fastball, using it in a way that effectively evades them, so I feel like I'm getting swings and misses. I think it's good because being able to use the change-up expands the breadth of my pitching."

Were there any takeaways and challenges from his time pitching in the first team?

"The takeaway is that if I can throw steadily into the zone, or if I can throw solidly on the pitch, I can drive in and swing and miss, which was great. For example, when Murabayashi hit two runs, or before that, McCuscar hit the first fastball on the first pitch, I think that's the difference from the farm team. When I go for a finish, I want to make sure to throw from the strike into the ball zone, and at crucial moments on the first pitch, I want to develop control to stay right on the right pitch and get it right on the pitch," he analyzed himself.

Based on his previous start, he's focusing simply on getting hitter in front of him out in this game against Softbank Hawks, saying, "First and foremost, I'll just closer them in check." "Rather than thinking about what I want to do because I have these challenges, I think what's important is how I approach the game against the opponent, how closer, and how well I can closer in the end, so I'll do my best to keep them closer." closer Softbank Hawks 's powerful batting lineup and secure his first win of the season.

Interview and text by Yuta Iwashita