Shogo Akiyama isn’t quite ready to say he’s better than he was last year. There’s evidence Akiyama has taken his game up a level — the Seibu Lions outfielder is playing pretty well for a team that’s also off to a decent start — but so far he’s been content to look at his early results with little more than cautious optimism.

Akiyama has been swinging the bat well and is patrolling center field better than he did a year ago. He’s giving the Lions a steady presence at the top of the order, which can help spark big innings for a team with a powder keg of offensive prowess in the middle of its lineup.

In 2014, Akiyama never got his batting average above .212 during the first two months of the season. This year, he was named the Pacific League’s Monthly MVP for hitters, his first win, for his play in March (four games) and April. He’s kept his head above water this month as well.

“I’m not sure if I’ve improved,” Akiyama told The Japan Times on Friday at Seibu Dome. “I just feel good with the way I’m hitting and luckily I’ve come up with these results. If I can keep this up throughout the year, then I can call it an improvement. But the season has just started, so it’s a little early to say that.”

Akiyama is currently hitting .347, second-best in Japan, with three home runs and 14 RBIs. He has 10 doubles, three triples, 11 walks, six stolen bases and has scored 33 runs.

Akiyama also leads NPB with 70 hits. His scorching start in April and early this month even had some in the media wondering, a bit too early, whether he could possibly make a run at 200 hits (a mark only Ichiro Suzuki and Tsuyoshi Nishioka have reached in the PL) or even Matt Murton’s single-season record of 214.

“It’d be great if I could come up with as many hits as possible,” Akiyama said. “But we still have (a lot of) games left, so I can’t think about that until everything is settled.”

Akiyama’s main focus right now is bouncing back from a 2014 season that didn’t start well and ended with him hitting just .259 with a .356 on-base percentage. He didn’t hit for any power either, connecting on just four home runs, though he managed 24 doubles, in his 131 games.

The 27-year-old had been solid for the Lions in 2012 and 2013, so last season was a bit of a letdown.

He set about tweaking a few things during the offseason, and felt changing the placement of his hands might help him get more out of his at-bats.

“I lowered my grip on the bat, and my swing is more lateral,” he said. “Last year, my hands were higher and I felt like I was swinging down more.”

He was satisfied with how everything was working during the spring and entered the season with a lot of confidence.

While Akiyama never really fully recovered from a poor start in 2014, he’s gotten this season started off on the right foot.

The next challenge is keeping everything pointed in the right direction.

“The best thing would be to win the championship,” Akiyama said of his goals for the rest of the season. “I also have great expectations for how much I can contribute by the end.”