eight innings. While manager Shigeru Takada considered sending Sato to the mound for the ninth, he opted against it after Sato told pitching coach Daisuke Araki that he would rather retain his eligibility for the Most Valuable Rookie award for the following season than earn his first complete-game win. (Sato's innings pitched total at the ichigun level at the end of the eighth inning was , just under the 30 that a player must not have exceeded for his career to be eligible for the award.) Sato finished the year with a 2–1 record in five starts (six appearances), recording a 4.55 ERA while striking out 28 in innings. His eight wins with the nigun team also led the Eastern League. 2009 Sato pitched well in the pre-season, going 1–0 with one save with a 2.37 ERA in four appearances, and was considered one of the favorites for the Central League Most Valuable Rookie award going into the season. He threw a pitch clocked at , his fastest since becoming a pro, in his third appearance against the Saitama Seibu Lions on 19 March. Sato took the mound in the Swallows' second game of the season against the Hanshin Tigers on 4 April, holding them to one run over six innings in his first win of the season, but gave up a career-high seven runs (all earned) on nine hits over just innings in his next start against the BayStars on 10 April. While he threw a pitch clocked at a personal-high in his fourth start against the BayStars on 26 April, Sato walked four and gave up three runs in just one inning in the shortest outing of his career. He was removed from the active roster and sent down to the minors the following day. On 2 December 2020, he become a free agent. Pitching style Listed at and , Sato is relatively small for a prototypical power pitcher. He has a slightly unorthodox delivery, raising his left leg and bringing his glove down in front of his knee before pulling it into his chest and throwing from a three-quarters arm slot. Sato's four-seam fastball has exceptional velocity, usually sitting at and reaching with one pitch during the 2010 season. Sato complements the pitch with a solid slider at low-80s and an occasional forkball. Sato can be considered as a two-pitch pitcher and still has a problem in