Highly regarded Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters rookie Shohei Otani threw 35 pitches in his first bullpen session of spring training on Sunday.
The former Hanamaki Higashi High School phenom, who has been practicing both as a pitcher and a position player, is still finding his sea legs, but demonstrated his limber form on the third day of training with the farm team in Okinawa's Kunigami.
With a phalanx of fans and reporters looking on, the right-hander tested his fastball and curveball, and after turning it up a notch mixed in his slider. He also had another day of fielding practice to show off his defensive skills.