[Nippon-Ham] Two-way player returns? Kota Yazawa enters bullpen for the first time this season "since the start of training camp" | Pacific League

矢沢宏太

Pacific League Nippon-Ham vs Softbank (24th, ES CON FIELD)

Nippon-Ham pitcher Kota Yazawa entered bullpen for the first time this season during pre-game practice. He threw about 20 pitches, including breaking ball, and revealed, “I felt like I should just throw a few. About 20 pitches. I started to put in a lot of force, so my speed increased, and they told me to stop at that point.”

Yazawa, who joined the pitcher as a two-way player, pitched in 17 games last season, including his first win, and finished with a 1-2 record and an ERA of 4.05.

This season, however, he has consistently played as a outfielder from camp, taking advantage of his agility. He has also shown growth in hitting, with a .244 batting average in 65 games this season, 1 Home Run, 14 RBI, 7 stolen base. In a game against Rakuten (Rakuten mobile) on the 17th, he was assigned to cleanup for the first time as “No. 5, right wing” and hit a two-run triple double to right center field.

He has not been in bullpen even during training camp this season, and explained his current situation by saying, “I guess it’s been since the early start of training camp. (Can I go anytime?) I can, but it depends on the quality, so I guess it would be more accurate to say I can’t. I haven’t done it for even a year, so it’s not possible to do it suddenly, but I’m thinking about it little by little.”

He is expected to pitch in games with a large lead, but with Miyanishi and Kono currently training in the second team, it is also true that there is a shortage of left-handed pitchers in bullpen. “I don’t know if that’s related to the lack of left-handed pitchers. (As a two-way player) I haven’t played in many games, so I’m fine physically,” he said.