Yuto Nakamura Yakult’s First Pick with 160 km/h Fastball, Never Aimed for Pro Baseball

I wanted to be a public servant.

This year’s draft pick by the Yakult was Yuto Nakamura, 21, of Aichi Institute of Technology University.

In March of this year, he was selected for the top team of Samurai Japan alongside Rui Muneyama and Yuto Kanemaru.

Born and raised in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Nakamura’s background is quite unique compared to players typically drafted in the top picks, who often belong to junior teams of all 12 professional clubs during elementary school or represent Japan in junior high before advancing to prestigious private schools.

For baseball elites, Nakamura’s upbringing in Isahaya, surrounded by three bodies of water—Omura Bay, Ariake Sea, and Tachibana Bay—stands out.

“In middle school, I played in a rubber baseball club, and I wasn’t recruited by any powerhouse schools. I wanted to become a public servant in the future, so I chose the agricultural civil engineering course at Isahaya Agricultural High School. Professional baseball? I never considered it,” he said.

This challenging program teaches the design of social infrastructure, and many graduates go on to secure jobs with organizations like the Nagasaki Prefectural Government, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

“I think Kanemaru is number one.”

The turning point for Nakamura in pursuing a professional career came in the summer of his second year when he met Hikari Hirai, the head coach of Aichi Institute of Technology. Hirai had heard about the promising right-handed pitcher from a public school that was not considered a powerhouse, and he recruited Nakamura, who was in his second year.

“When the summer Koshien tournament was canceled, some of my friends had to reluctantly give up participating in independent tournaments for job hunting. I thought I should do my best in baseball for the sake of my friends who couldn’t play,” Nakamura said.

Responding to Hirai’s invitation, he moved from Nagasaki to Aichi and joined the team from the spring league in his first year, where he achieved his first victory against the strong Chukyo University.

“At that time, I recorded 147 km/h. When summer came and COVID-19 spread, there was a period when I spent time in isolation. Since I hadn’t contracted the virus, I did bodyweight training in that room and studied baseball through YouTube and social media. While weight training was banned for infection prevention, I think that training during that time contributed to my improvement. I was able to exceed 150 km/h in the autumn league, and that’s when I first started to think about going pro.”

As a bona fide right-handed pitcher, Nakamura became the strikeout king of the league and donned the Samurai Japan uniform this spring.

“Murakami (Munetaka, Tokyo Yakult) spoke to me casually, and I felt the depth of a top player’s character. Watching the way they carried themselves before the game, I could sense their fighting spirit. I learned how to grip a straight ball from Yamashita Shunpei (Orix), who is from Fukuoka and my classmate; seeing that our grips were similar made me think my grip wasn’t wrong. I also asked Sumida Tomohiro (Seibu Lions) about how to throw a changeup. Having the opportunity to spend time with professionals before becoming one was a valuable experience.”

It’s undeniable that his fastball, which approaches 160 km/h, is his greatest weapon. He skillfully handles a variety of pitches, including his reliable vertical and horizontal sliders, forkball, changeup, and cut fastball.

“I believe my strengths are my control, low walk rate, the sharpness of my breaking balls, and my stamina. It’s not just about having speed,” he said.

Nakamura sees his classmate Kanemaru as a rival.

“I think Kanemaru is the number one pitcher of our generation. I want to surpass him one day. My goal isn’t just to become a professional; it’s to succeed as a professional. I have been training with that in mind. Now I incorporate a lot of dumbbell training into my routine, and I’m doing it in a stoic manner. I enjoy taking on any endeavor that helps me improve at baseball.”

The future looks bright for this hard-throwing pitcher.