Japanese pitcher Yuto Kanakubo rises from middle reliever to closer for Kiwoom Heroes in KBO

Yuto Kanakubo, the new Japanese pitcher for the Kiwoom Heroes, began his first season in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) as a middle reliever. But as Kanakubo became accustomed to his surroundings, his fastball velocity started ticking up and his confidence kept growing, too, eventually leading to the right-hander being promoted to the closer role this week.

The Japanese hurler has rewarded manager Seol Jong-jin for his faith by notching two straight saves against the NC Dinos on Tuesday and Wednesday. He struck out three of the nine batters he faced and allowed just two hits.

Kanakubo, 26, doesn't want to stop at just two saves, though. "I want to stay healthy and maintain my form, and keep recording saves," Kanakubo said in a media scrum at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Thursday. "Ultimately, I want to have the most saves in the league. Obviously, I would also love to win a championship."

Cynics may dismiss this as a mere pipe dream. Through Thursday's action, Kanakubo trailed the KBO leader in saves, You Young-chan of the LG Twins, by 11-2. The Heroes were in last place with a 7-15-0 (wins-losses-ties) record.

Still, it's difficult to deny Kanakubo's impact on the Heroes. The KBO introduced an Asian quota for this season, allowing clubs to each sign one Asian- or Australian-born player with prior experience in an Asian league, in addition to their usual trio of foreign players. Nine of the 10 teams acquired a pitcher to fill their Asian spot, and Kanakubo is so far the only one of the group to record a save. He has established himself in the inner circle of trust in his team's bullpen, while many others have been struggling to get batters out.

At least for the first game, Kanakubo didn't look that much different than some other Asian quota pitchers. He allowed three runs on four hits in only 2/3 of an inning against the Hanwha Eagles in his KBO debut on March 28. In 11 outings since, however, Kanakubo has limited opponents to one run in eight innings, while striking out seven and walking two.

"I can feel that the pressure is clearly different now, compared to when I was pitching in the seventh or eighth inning," he said. "I always want to protect our lead when I am on the mound."

Along the way, Kanakubo said he changed the way he goes after hitters. "In that first game, I might have looked like I wasn't confident because I threw a lot of breaking balls," Kanakubo said. "But as I started gaining more experience, I've changed my pitching style so that I am throwing more fastballs and doing so with more confidence."

That confidence is well founded. Kanakubo has touched 154 kilometers per hour (kph) with his fastball and has averaged nearly 149 kph, making him one of the league's hardest-throwing relievers.

"My goal is to throw even faster. For now, I want to get to 155," Kanakubo said with a smile. "I want to push it 1 kph at a time. I know it can be taxing on my body so I want to take good care of myself."

Kanakubo spent the previous six seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) since 2020, pitching to a 4.31 ERA and a 5-4 record in 34 appearances.

Kanakubo's manager during his time there was Shingo Takatsu, former NPB, KBO and Major League Baseball pitcher. Takatsu notched eight saves for the Heroes in 2008, which made him the first pitcher to save a game in those three leagues.

"I've spent my whole time at Yakult with him, and it's a huge honor to be following in his footsteps here," Kanakubo said.