a clean up batter. He ended the season with a .237 average, 7 home runs and 38 RBIs in 198 at bats. He also finished second in the Central League Rookie of the Year voting behind Chunichi Dragons shortstop Yota Kyoda. He continued to bat clean up during the post-season Climax Series games (playoffs) against the Baystars, and on October 15, he went 4-for-5 (1B9, HR7, 2B9, 2B8, F9) and tied the playoffs record for most hits in a game with 15 other players. He is the first rookie to accomplish the feat during post-season play (including the Nippon Series), and the fourth rookie in Climax Series history to hit a home run. He notched 7 hits and 4 RBIs during the three playoff games before Hanshin got eliminated. His performance for the season earned him a 10 million pay raise, bringing his annual salary to 25 million yen.。 2018 He played for the Samurai Japan in the 2018 ENEOS Samurai Japan Series versus Australia before the season started. He managed to secure the third-base position during the season-opener, but saw fewer plate appearances as he went on a hitting slump in April, and was eventually sent back to the farm on June 22. He redeemed himself by batting 0.400 in 8 farm games, scored 8 RBIs including 3 home runs, which prompted management to call him back to the main squad a few days later. He continued to hit well in the following weeks, but did not really hit anything beyond the fence. In September however, he hit one home run after another, including 2 home runs in a single inning during the September 16 match against the Baystars, and a rare inside-the-park home run on September 27. This brought his total to 11, and he experienced his first season with double digit home runs. He finished the season at 0.274, with 48 RBIs out of 117 games. His improved performance earned him an additional 5 million yen pay raise, bringing his annual salary to 30 million yen. 2019 As with the previous year, he played for the Samurai Japan in the 2019 exhibition games against Mexico. He was assigned the cleanup role (4th batter) in the season-opener against the Swallows, and continued in that role from then onwards. By June 20, he notched his 10th home run during the interleague games and became the first home-grown Hanshin player