Neftali Soto Adjusts to Hard Pitching in the Pacific League; Foot injury kept batter out until late December

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama — Neftali Soto has to be on his guard — literally — as he adjusts to the Pacific League after six seasons in the Central League.

Soto made the jump from the Yokohama DeNA BayStars to the Chiba Lotte Marines as a free agent last season, but he is still dealing with a foot injury that required surgery. It is understandable that he takes things step by step.

“It was a weird offseason. I couldn’t walk until December 30,” the 35-year-old told The Japan News at the Belluna Dome on April 10.

Soto, who hit 161 home runs and had 442 RBIs during his time with the BayStars, said he was physically unable to perform his normal routine. As a result, he missed practice time when he reported to his new team and is still studying the unknown pitching in the PL.

Part of that process is getting used to a larger number of pitchers who he said bring the heat.

“There’s a lot of guys who throw cheese,” Soto joked. “So that’s the most important difference.

“In Central you see some guys who throw hard, but that’s not on a regular basis. Here I feel like everyone is throwing hard.”

Japan’s hardest thrower is his new teammate Roki Sasaki. The coveted fifth-year righty is on the radar of many Major League teams after reaching a top speed of 100 mph about a year ago, giving Shohei Ohtani the fastest throw by a Japanese pitcher.

“We faced him last year and the year before, but I only faced him once,” the infielder said.

“I want to see him all season,” said Soto, who isn’t much different from fans when it comes to his anticipation of seeing Sasaki pitch.

“Great talent. Good stuff. It will be exciting.”

The excitement for Soto these days comes when he’s in the batter’s box, where he’s hitting .317 with a home run and seven RBIs in the early going.

The Puerto Rican is still in rehabilitation mode due to his injured foot, but he expects to be in the field at first base with a great view of Sasaki as the Marines try to march towards the play-in for the fourth time offs of the PL Climax Series. in five seasons.