With their alternate first pick the Swallows chose...

The night started off with the Swallows vying for Shuhei Takahashi along with the Dragons (as expected) and the Buffaloes. After each team’s rep had drawn their envelopes there was a few moments of confusion as it seemed for a moment that no one had drawn a lucky envelope. But then the Dragons’ future manager Takagi figured out he was holding the winning ticket and the Dragons had Takahashi. After losing out on Takahashi, the Swallows chose high school outfielder/pitcher Ryuhei Kawakami of Kosei Gakuin High School. While he’s listed as a pitcher/outfielder, the Swallows have him as just an outfielder. The right-hander hit 3 homeruns (including an inside-the-park HR) during the most recent summer Koshien tournament. Kawakami possesses a strong arm, and good speed, and while his upside is much lower than Takahashi’s, it seems the club is looking for him to become a 5-tool player down the line.

After Kawakami, the Swallows decided to go a little bit older electing to draft only university and industrial league guys. The first of those players was Ryohei Kiya of Nihon Bunri University. The right-handed pitcher throws a 145 km/h fastball as well as a splitter. The Swallows like his mound presence and believe he can find his way into the rotation in the very near future.

With their third and fourth picks the Swallows chose players from Nippon Paper Ishinomaki, Kyuko’s old Industrial League team. The first of those picks was Wataru Hiyane who is a right-handed outfielder with speed and defensive ability. The Swallows have a quote from Kyuko calling Hiyane very fast, and the Swallows themselves note that he could be a regular if his bat can adapt to the pro game. The second player the Swallows took from Nippon Paper was Yuya Ota, a left-handed pitcher with a dropping curve and a cut fastball. It seem the Swallows will be looking for him to follow in Kyuko’s footsteps and have an impact on the bullpen immediately.

In the fifth round the Swallows selected right-handed pitcher Yuji Nakane from Tohoku Fukushi University. Nakane was a high school teammate of Yoshinori. Unfortunately, injuries have held him back. When healthy Nakane exhibits a fluid fastball and if he can avoid any more injuries the Swallows believe he can be a rotation regular with his old teammate.

The Swallows final pick in the regular draft was Masato Furuno from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Kobe. Like many Industrial League pitchers Furuno has a fairly slow fastball (MAX 143km/h), but has a variety of breaking balls to keep hitters guessing. The Swallows believe he will be able to contribute to the bullpen right away.

The Swallows made 2 additional picks in the ikusei portion of the draft. Their first ikusei pick was Takeaki Tokuyama from Ritsumeikan University. The right-handed pitcher, who also bats switch, throws an array of pitches and the Swallows seem to consider him a high ceiling guy. The final pick for the Swallows in the 2011 draft was used for Hugo Kanabushi from Hakuoh University. While very rough, the left-hander has a strong fastball and the Swallows no doubt hope he’ll follow in the footsteps of another former Hakuoh University Brazillian, Fernandes.

Going through the picks beyond the Kawakami pick, it seems that the Swallows have drafted a few arms that can contribute right away in the bullpen. Unlike last year’s draft class, this class seems to have a lower potential ceiling but will have a higher immediate impact.

2011 Swallows' Draftees

For those of you who are new to the Japanese draft format and are not familiar with how it works, check out the post I wrote last year about the process. I’ll be presenting a few players that may be of interest to Swallows fans and draftniks in general. Like last year, I have not seen any of the players I will be presenting. Instead, I will be summarizing data that is available in the Japanese media and draft sites. This year’s draft doesn’t seem as deep as last years, but there are a couple of big prospects that are on many team’s radar. However, it seems the Swallows have already chosen their man.

Shuhei Takahashi

The Swallows’ front office has confirmed that they will be attempting to select the lefty shortstop from Tokai Kofu High School. Takahashi, with his 71 career homeruns, has been compared to Yoshitomo Tsutsugo of the Yokohama BayStars. Every draft magazine and site I have read raves about Takahashi’s incredible bat speed. Unlike his high school peers, Takahashi has been swinging a wooden bat since his first year. He was part of the Japanese team that played in the IBAF U-18 Asian Championships that were held in Yokohama earlier this year, and was named MVP of the tournament. His ability to hit to all fields and for impressive power, has the Swallows pegging him as the kind of talent that appears only once every 3-4 years. While most other teams will be going for the Big 3 college pitchers coming out in this draft, the Swallows seem to be content with their crop of young pitchers (Yoshinori, Muranaka and Akagawa) and will be going for offensive power in this draft. The Dragons are the only other team that have confirmed their intention to draft Takahashi, thus it looks likely that the Swallows will have a 50% chance of landing their man tomorrow. Although the Swallows think up to 4 teams will name Takahashi with their initial pick. As a plus, it seems that Takahashi is a Swallows fan and has said he would like to play for the Swallows.

The Next Swallow?

Should the Swallows lose out on Takahashi it looks likely that the Swallows will go after a pitcher. Exactly which pitcher(s) the Swallows have an interest in is not very clear. The following names have come up as possible Swallows picks in various draft sources. Unlike last year, I’ll keep the descriptions short, but I’ll compensate by including YouTube clips. These players are in no way the only players the Swallows have shown interest in, and the draft will no doubt feature a number of surprises.

Kazuo Ito

The tall right-handed pitcher from Tokyo International University is seen as a pro ready fastball pitcher. His fastball tops out at 150 km/h, but not much has been written about his other pitches. His strong performance in the University Championships has raised his stock considerably.

Yoshinao Kamata

The right-handed pitcher from Kanazawa High School in Ishikawa is seen as a high upside pitcher with a strong 150+ km/h fastball and a developing breaking ball. Kamata is generally seen as needing a few years of seasoning in ni-gun before being able to contribute to the top team.

Yuhei Nakaushiro

The southpaw from Kinki University throws a 150 km/h fastball from a side arm angle. His ability to throw from different angles from the left side is a valued ability, and is seen as a pro-ready reliever.

Ken Togame

Is considered one of the best Industrial League prospects in this draft. The right-handed pitcher for JR East throws a 149 km/h from a sidearm. The durable pitcher can throw a wide array of breaking balls but none are as impressive as his fastball.

Kosuke Tomita

The right-handed closer for the Shikoku Island League’s Kagawa Olive Guyners throws a 152 km/h fastball and seems to have drawn high interest from Swallows scouts.

Felipe Natel

The 21 year old Brazillian right-hander who currently pitches for Yamaha in the Industrial League hails from the same high school that produced Rafael Fernandes. Natel is a fastball/slider pitcher that may garner some interest from us, as all 3 Brazillian player in NPB are on the Swallows roster. Because Natel has met the NPB’s residency requirements, and thus is draft-eligible, he would not count towards the import limit.

As expected the Swallows threw their hat into the Yuki Saito sweepstakes. They were joined by the Nippon Ham Fighters, the Chiba Lotte Marines, and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Our manager Ogawa, armed with a blue handkerchief, could not manage to draw the winning envelope and Saito’s negotiation rights went to the Fighters. While Yuki Saito was the headliner of the draft, Tatsuya Oishi got more interest, with 6 teams vying for his services. After drawing the winning envelope for Yusei Kikuchi last year, the Seibu Lions won big again this year, getting their man for the second straight year. Only the Chunichi Dragons and the Yomiuri Giants managed to avoid the Waseda rush, being the only team to pick Yudai Ono, and Hirokazu Sawamura, respectively.

Reeling from the loss of Saito, the Swallows again targeted a university pitcher that could contribute immediately. With their alternate first pick the Swallows named Takahiro Shiomi from Hachinohe University. Unfortunately the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, reeling from the loss of Oishi, also had the same idea. Forced to draw envelopes again, the Swallows came away losers for the second time that night. While the Swallows were losing out on Shiomi, the Orix Buffaloes were experiencing a similar run of bad luck. After losing out on Oishi, the Buffaloes lost a draw against the Marines for Shota Ishimine, the Tokai University outfielder. With only the Swallows and Buffaloes left to choose, many of the elite NPB-ready picks were already off the board.

To cap off the first round hi jinks, the Swallows and Buffaloes both named Tetsuto Yamada, shortstop from Riseisha High School in Osaka, with their second alternate pick. Yamada, sometimes referred to in the press as T-Yamada because of fellow Riseisha alum T-Okada of the Buffaloes, is seen as a potential 5-tool player. The Swallows finally managed to grab a winning envelope, and won the right to negotiate with Yamada. What had began as a night in which the Swallows were hoping to draft a high impact player for next season, quickly turned into a night in which the team drafted for high impact players 2-5 years down the line.

With the second pick in the draft the Swallows chose right-handed pitcher Yuki Shichijo from the Hakuwa Victories of the industrial league. Shichijo, who was not on anybody’s radar screen as far as I can tell, is a breaking ball pitcher that throws from a three-quarter arm slot. Despite many sources focusing on Shichijo’s max fastball speed at 148 km/h, it seems that his fastball is usually thrown in the 138-144 km/h range. According to the email sent by the team to its fans the team expects Shichijo to compete for a rotation or bullpen spot.

With their third and fourth pick, the Swallows drafted the Hokusho High School battery of Akihisa Nishida (catcher) and Tomoya Matano (pitcher). Nishida, drafted in the third round, is noted for his strong throw to second and his ability to pull the ball. Matano, drafted in the fourth round, will be asked to convert to third base or the outfield and his being seen as a potential power hitter. Both players hit from the right side and recorded 30+ homeruns over their high school careers at Hokusho.

Akihisa Nishida and Tomoya Matano get to work shilling the company product.

After going young in the third and fourth rounds, the Swallows decided to go to the industrial leagues for their fifth round pick. With their fifth pick, the Swallows chose left-handed pitcher Kentaro Kyuko from Nippon Paper. Kyuko pitched for Aoyama Gakuin University before moving to the industrial leagues. As with most players out of the industrial leagues, Kyuko possesses an underwhelming fastball (topping out at 142 km/h) but has a wide array of breaking balls that he can locate accurately. He will be expected to compete for a bullpen spot, and will most like be treated as a left-handed specialist.

The Swallows rounded out the main draft by choosing Nariaki Kawasaki from the Kumamoto Golden Larks of the industrial leagues. The right-handed outfielder has a fast time to first base, a strong arm, and some pop. It seems the Swallows see him as a potential bench outfielder as players like Fukuchi age.

The Swallows also picked up some players in the ensuing ikusei draft. The ikusei draft allows teams to sign drafted players at a lower cost, and not count against the team’s total roster. Ikusei players can appear in Ni-gun games, but cannot be called up to the first team without first signing a standard players’ contract. Ikusei players are a big crap shoot, and whether you’ll ever see these players with the top team is anybody’s guess. The Swallows drafted Koki Kitano a speedy outfielder out of Kanagawa University with their first ikusei pick. With their second pick the Swallows chose Keisuke Ueno, a relief pitcher out of the independent Island League. Finally with their final pick, the Swallows picked Takanori Sato, also known as Yoshinori’s little brother, a left-hitting outfielder out of Sendai Ikuei High School.

While there is no reason to believe that these players won’t sign contracts with the Swallows, it is important to remember that until/unless they sign, they are not the Swallows’ players. Overall, not the draft haul many were expecting and hoping for but as with all drafts, especially baseball drafts, it’s important to evaluate the draft a few years down the road. Not getting Saito or any of the other highly rated players was a disappointment, but hopefully some, if not all, of these men will develop into strong contributors for the team.

2010 Swallows' Draftees

Before I begin describing some of the players of interest in this year’s draft, I should note that I have not seen any of these players myself. I do not follow high school, university, or industrial league ball and the assessments of the players below are summaries based on reading a number of sources including the Sports Hochi draft special magazine, Number magazine, articles linked from YakyuBaka and other English language websites, and other random bits on pieces from the Japanese media. The players I describe below are a select few that I found interesting or relevant, if there are any other players you think deserve our attention please let us know in the comments section.

While reading through various draft previews, it becomes evident that many teams keep their draft plans, at least their post-first pick plans, very close to the vest. That leaves writers to speculate about which players teams are actually leaning towards. There’s a lot of seemingly contradictory information out there about teams’ intentions, but there are a few consensus points that can be taken away from all the draft coverage. First of all, there are very few hitters worth getting excited about. The NPB draft has always been a pitcher-centric draft in the early rounds, but this year may see all 12 teams pick up pitchers with their first pick. Number magazine compiled a generous list of 27 players with first round potential, only 7 position players made the list. Secondly, almost every team is looking for 即戦力 (soku-sen-ryoku) from their early picks. If you read Japanese draft coverage you’ll see this word get repeated ad nauseam. Basically, every team is looking for players that can contribute right away. Combining those two factors, let’s examine some pitchers that may be able to contribute to their teams right away.

Yuki Saito

If there’s one more piece of certainty we can draw from the draft coverage, it is this, the Tokyo Yakult Swallows will name Yuki Saito with their first pick. Saito has been a Japanese baseball hero since winning the 2006 summer Koshien for Waseda Jitsugyo. The media had dubbed Saito, Handkerchief Prince, because he wiped his sweat on the mound with a handkerchief. Instead of jumping straight into pro ball after his storied high school career, Saito chose to go to Waseda University. Saito became the first freshman in 80 years to start a season opening game in the Tokyo Big 6 baseball league. Since then, Saito hasn’t missed a start and hasn’t dealt with any serious injuries. Saito is a right-handed pitcher that throws a fastball that tops out at 150 km/h, an effective slider, and fork ball as his main pitches. He is also capable of throwing a 2-seam fastball, a cut ball, and a changeup. Reading in between the lines of all the hype, there are concerns that Saito has already reached his full potential and that he will merely be a good but not great player in the pros. Given Saito’s Waseda pedigree, his 4 years of pitching at Jingu, and the boost in popularity he will bring to the team, the Swallows cannot and will not go back on their vow to draft Saito. The only other team to publicly declare their intention to draft Saito is the Marines. Although, many publications have the Carp and the Hawks as having Saito on their short lists.

Tatsuya Oishi

Saito’s teammate from Waseda is the top pick for many teams in the market for a closer. Oishi has a lively fastball that can make batters swing and miss. At this summer’s World University Baseball Championship, Oishi made 4 one inning appearances, and struck out 10 of the 14 batters he faced. In his Tokyo Big 6 career up to and including this year’s spring league, Oishi had amassed 188 strikeouts in 129 innings to only 36 walks. No scout on record has disputed the fact that Oishi can make an immediate impact out of the bullpen. Any team attempting to get Oishi to start may run into some trouble, as he has been ineffective in his limited number of starts at Waseda. Oishi appears at the top of many teams’ projected pick lists, with as many as 6 teams possibly placing a bid on the young closer.

Hirokazu Sawamura

Along with Saito and Oishi, Hirokazu Sawamura of Chuo University rounds out the “Big 3″ prospects that seem to be on every team’s radar. Sawamura first and foremost is known for being able to consistently throw his fastball at over 150 km/h. His fastball tops out at 157 km/h, a student record for Jingu. Sawamura complements his fastball with a hard slider, a forkball, and a curveball. Despite his speed, Sawamura does not have eye-popping strikeout numbers, and he is prone to giving up home runs. Sawamura has missed the World University Baseball Championship due to minor injury, but has shown no ill effects in fall play. His impressive fastball and his impressive numbers in the arguably more competitive Tohto league have lead to Sawamura’s name to appear in a greater number of team’s projected short lists. Number magazine projected that 5 teams would pick Sawamura with their first pick.

Yudai Ono

Yudai Ono is probably the top left-handed pitcher in the draft, and in a sport that values left-handed pitching, that fact alone can mean multiple suitors for the young man out of Bukkyo University. Up until his senior year, Ono was know for his fastball heavy repertoire and his jerky powerful delivery. This April, Ono unveiled a wicked forkball to complement his fastball, greatly increasing his effectiveness. Ono seems to have some issues locating pitches at times, but has managed to keep is walk count low (1.09 BB/9 in league games). Ono has not pitched this fall, citing shoulder discomfort, a fact which may scare some teams off.

Takahiro Shiomi

Another university left-hander that is creating some buzz is Takahiro Shiomi of Hachinohe University. Shiomi, already considered a solid prospect, threw a no-hitter (1 walk) on Sunday at the final of the Tohoku qualifier for the Meiji Jingu tournament. Shiomi has a solid repertoire of stuff, a crisp fastball, slider, cut fastball, and fork, that he can control well into the later innings. While not flashy or overwhelming like Ono or Sawamura, Shiomi looks to be a solid pick.

Yuya Fukui

Yuya Fukui is “the other pitcher” from Waseda University. Despite being a bit of an afterthought to Yuki Saito and Tatsuya Oishi, Fukui also possesses the qualities that make him an attractive first round choice. Originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 draft by the Giants, Fukui took a year off and ended up at Waseda. With a solid fastball/slider combination Fukui manages to get a fair amount of strikeouts. Although control issues have lead to him giving up a fair amount of walks as well. But if you like your scouting reports have a sunny-side-up flavor, you’ll love this quote from an unidentified scout. “His occasional wild pitching makes it harder for batters to zero in on pitches. A very practical quality!” Given the Swallows’ preference for Waseda players, Fukui may be a player the Swallows target if they lose out on the Saito sweepstakes.

Shinta Hifumi

Shinta Hifumi, the first high schooler to be featured in this column, has perhaps the coolest family name I’ve ever seen. Written 一二三, it is literally the characters one-two-three in kanji. Hifumi lead Tokaidai Sagami High School to the Summer Koeshien final this summer. The right-hander can throw a 150 km/h fastball from a sidearm delivery, a delivery he devised after suffering an injury this spring. Hifumi has indicated that he would like to return to an overhead delivery in the pros. Some pro teams have Hifumi listed as a hitting prospect, which should be taken more as a sign of this draft’s shallowness of position players. Hifumi will probably be taken once all the 即戦力 players are off the board in the first round.

Daiki Enokida

Enokida is probably this draft’s best industrial league prospect. The Tokyo Gas southpaw, like many industrial league prospects, does not have an overwhelming fastball, but possesses an impressive array of breaking balls. Enokida has used his time in the industrial league to develop his form and add to his repertoire. His stuff, high baseball IQ, and poise seem to make him a safe, if unspectacular pick.

Shuhei Fujiya

This last draft note is cribbed straight from Marinerds (click the link above for the more detailed profile). Not much actual information is known about Shuhei Fujiya, except that he is draft eligible (i.e. he’s a Japanese citizen) and that he’s been an effective closer at the American college level. Fujiya’s baseball experience has been mostly American, and I haven’t been able to find any sources that would even confirm if Fujiya was even interested in played in Japan. But apparently the Swallows have had their eyes on Fujiya, so he may be selected in the later rounds.

That does it for our extremely non-comprehensive look at some players to watch in the upcoming draft. Other names to keep an eye out for are Hosei University’s Kisho Kagami, Toyo University’s Masahiro Inui, Osaka Gas’ Yuki Iwami, Tohoku Fukushi University’s Hirobumi Abe, and Osaka Gakuin University’s Hiroshi Kobayashi. The Swallows will also probably end up drafting Takanori Saito, Yoshinori’s younger brother who is an outfielder out of Sendai Ikue High School.

Comments/Questions/Criticisms are all welcome in the comments section below!

Yuki Saito, the next Tokyo Swallow?

The 2010 NPB draft will be held on October 28 at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo. For those of you who are used to draft systems used in North American sports, the NPB draft has a number of wrinkles that you may not be familiar with. This post will walk you through the minutia of the draft.

Eligibility: Broadly speaking, the draft applies to, any Japanese citizen, or foreigner educated at a Japanese educational institution, who has never signed with an NPB team. Although there are a number of other restrictions that limit the pool considerably.

For students currently enrolled in school, they must be on track to graduate in the March proceeding the draft. Furthermore, university students must be in their fourth year of study or above. Students who drop out from their school after April 1st on the year of the draft are not eligible to be drafted that year. Finally, students must submit letters of intent to their respective governing organizations to be eligible for the draft. High school students must submit their letter to the Japan High School Baseball Federation, while university students must submit their letter to the Japan University Baseball Federation.

The draft eligibility of players playing in leagues associated with the Japan Amateur Baseball Association, commonly referred to as the industrial leagues, depend on time served with their current club. Players that joined industrial league teams straight out of middle or high school, are not eligible to be drafted until they play 3 years with that club. All other players, like journeymen industrial leaguers, cannot be drafted until they play 2 years with their current club. Players from teams that fold or go on hiatus are exempted from these rules.

All other players, like those playing in independent leagues, are eligible to be drafted as long as they fit into the broad eligibilty rules outlined in the beginning of this section.

Selections: The first round of the draft is based on a simultaneous bid system. All 12 teams declare the player they wish to select with their first selection. The negotiation rights to players that are named by only 1 team, go to the team that selected them. The rights to players that are named by multiple teams are decided by random draw. Teams that lose out on the draw must name another available player, and the process repeats itself until all 12 teams have selected a player. Hideo Nomo and Hideo Koike share the record for being named by the most teams with their the first selection, with 8 teams vying for their services.

All subsequent rounds carry on through a snaking draft order. In other words, the draft order alternates between regular and reverse order. The draft order for the first such round starts with the last place team from one of the leagues, followed by the last place team from the other league, followed by the fifth place team from the first league, etc. The league which selects first is determined through on the results of that year’s All Star game. This year, the Central league team will select first in the second round.

Teams do not have a set number of draft picks, and may stop picking once they determine that they do not want any other available player. The draft ends when all teams have stopped making selections, or when 120 total players have been selected, whichever happens first.

Negotiation Rights: Once teams have selected players, they have until the end of March of the next year to sign them to a pro contract. Industrial team players only have until the end of January to sign a contract. Players that fail to sign with a team will be eligible to be drafted in the future, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

That wraps up our quick and dry look at the draft process here in Japan! Stay tuned for some of the big names that will be on everyone’s radar come Thursday.

The Swallows were part of that huge scrum looking to snap up Yusei Kikuchi, but they lost out (Seibu’s manager, Watanabe, chose the winning envelope) on the chance to negotiate with the high school phenom and were thus forced to make more conservative picks.

In the first round of the amateur draft, which now includes players from high school, college, and the industrial league, the Swallows selected Masato Nakazawa. Nakazawa is a 24-year-old left-handed pitcher from Toyota’s industrial league team that could be a contender for a starting rotation slot next season. He will be 25 when the 2010 campaign kicks off, and he’ll hopefully be flexing his fastball-slider combo on the first team. He apparently has a fastball that tops out in the mid 140′s.

Before signing with Toyota, Nakazawa played at Chuo University, and he is listed on the Yakult website as being 179 cm tall and 80 kg on the scales.

The Swallows used their second round draft pick to select another pitcher out of the industrial league, this time it was right-handed pitcher Tetsuya Yamamoto who plays for Mitsubishi Kobe. Tokyo is hoping that Yamamoto can get into the mix for a spot on the first team bullpen or maybe even some time on the starting rotation. Also 24 years old, Yamamoto is listed as being 179 cm tall and weighing 74 kg.

Tokyo was able to resist drafting a high school player for yet another round when they chose Takahiro Araki (IF) in the third. The 22-year-old right-handed player will be joining the team after he graduates from Kinki University in the spring, and many will be watching to see if he can join the platoon of infielders that are looking to allow Miyamoto to ease into his upcoming managerial career.

The fourth round was when Tokyo finally swooped for a high school pitcher. They chose Ryo Hirai (18 years old) out of Teikyo 5th High School. Hirai is a thin, six-feet-tall right-handed pitcher who can reach 145 kph with his fastball.

21-year-old outfielder, Jun Matsui, was invited to join the Swallows in the fifth round. He played baseball for Nihon University Junior College, and he apparently possesses both speed and power.

Tokyo also snared two players in the ikusei draft:

Maike Magario joins the team straight out of Aomori Yamada High School. The 18-year-old outflielder (R/R) spent his early years in Brazil (much like veteran Yuichi Matsumoto).

The Swallows’ final pick of the draft was Tomofumi Aso, an infielder from Nihon University Junior College (along with Matsui above). The 22-year-old hits and throws righty.

Tokyo 1st-round pick, lefty Katsuki Akagawa.

The amateur draft took place last night, but the media only picked up the fact that Yomiuri landed a big-hitting kid by the name of Taishi Ota out of Tokaidai Sagami High School as their first pick.

Anyway, while it may come as a surprise to the media that 11 other teams were present at the event, we here at tsubamegun would like to take this opportunity to let you know who Tokyo came away with.

1st pick:

Tokyo opted for a left-handed high school pitcher by the name of Katsuki Akagawa. The 184cm tall 18 year-old has a fastball in the 140′s.

2nd pick:

Ryousuke Yagi, another left-handed pitcher fresh out of high school, was Tokyo’s second pick. He apparently has a decent fastball-slider combo.

3rd pick:

Tokyo used its third pick of the draft to select Ryuuhei Nakamura. Nakamura is a right-handed catcher with a decent arm. Like the two guys picked before him, he is 18 years old.

4th pick:

Ryou Hidaka was the third (and final) 18 year-old, left-handed pitcher that Tokyo selected last night. He is said to have good balance with a fastball that can reach the 140′s.

5th pick:

Tokyo crowded the bullpen just a little more by picking its second catcher of the night. Genki Nitta (yes, you read his first name correctly) is the only guy out of the five that is old enough to drink (in Japan). For the record, he turned 26 in August. Nitta went to Chuo University and then spent time with Panasonic in the Industrial League. Hopefully he’ll be able to kick one of our many useless catchers back down to the farm team by the end of March 2009.

Ikusei (?? – supplementary) Draft

1st pick:

Rafael Miranda Fernandes (22 years old) is a right-handed pitcher with a fastball that is in the high 140′s.

2nd pick:

Kouji Tsukamoto (26 years old) is a right-handed submarine style pitcher.

And there you have it! I can tell you right now that Garrett will not be impressed with these picks. He’s been predicting that this would happen since last season when they decided to combine the two drafts–18 year-olds being picked over everyone else.

Young pitchers tend to get snagged early on; with pitching being so vital to a team’s success, many teams (on both sides of the Pacific) are willing to take their chances on relatively unproven (read: high school) arms.

However, it seems that Takada is trying desperately to find a left-handed version of Yuu Darvish. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why he chose to waste use his first four picks on high school players.

A few teams, namely Yokohama, Hanshin, Hokkaido and Chiba, were smart enough to use their first three picks to claim negotiating rights with university/corporate players.

Which, of course, is not to say that there aren’t at least a few fantastic players at the high school level right now. It would just be nice if people would learn from their own (and other’s) mistakes every once in a while.

Well, for a good rundown of all 12 team’s picks in English, check Deanna’s blog.

Junichi Tazawa

For years now, fans, reporters, and officials of Japanese professional baseball have been fretting over the damage – real and potential – that the globalization of the sport is doing to Japan’s professional clubs.

While fans on both sides of the Pacific have been pleased to see the success of Nomo, Ichiro, Matsui, Matsuzaka, Okajima, Fukudome, Iwamura, et al., their absence has been felt keenly by their former clubs and the trend they’ve set is often listed among the signs of the apocalypse for Nippon Professional Baseball rather than as the wonderful international friendship-building move Major League Baseball likes to promote.

To be sure, NPB clubs are nowhere near being able to compete head to head with their Major League counterparts in pecuniary terms.  As MLB makes savvy, assertive moves to build its brand internationally, the disparity grows.  To put it bluntly, Major League Baseball is not only the undisputed top tier of baseball, it is also a vastly better-run business, employing an organization, unity of purpose, and progressive approach to marketing and promotion of an entirely different order from the selfish, quasi-feudal overconfidence born of NPB’s being the biggest, and at times only, show in the land for decades.

The question then becomes how pro baseball in Japan can cope with its own on-field success, for it is, ironically, the rising level of play in Japan that has led to Japanese clubs finding it harder to keep talent.  It is no longer a big deal for a Japanese player to head over to the Majors.  On the other side, though, Japanese clubs are still not bringing top players the other way.

Since the mid-1950s, NPB has placed a limit on the number of foreign players any team can keep on its active roster, with one of the arguments being that such a limit would give more homegrown players a chance to develop and would prevent any club (viz. the early ’50s Giants) from using raw pruchasing power to import the core an overwhelmingly dominant side.  To be fair, although it may be time to revise this quota, the system appears to have worked.  The issue facing NPB now is not at all an influx or the performance of foreign players.

The issue now is competing for the homegrown talent with overseas clubs and their bigger bank accounts and top dog status.

Given its history and approach to the business side of baseball, Japanese pro baseball’s solution to this new challenge is not surprising.  Increase revenue?  No discernible progress there.  Aggressively court some big foreign names to grab the interest of a fan base more interested in celebrity than teams or the game itself? Not seeing it.  No, the clubs’ answer was to stick the blame and the punishment squarely on the players.

Thus, NPB has joined with the corporate (or industrial) leagues and even universities to prohibit any player who bypasses the Japanese amateur draft to deal with foreign clubs from playing for any NPB team for three years after his return to Japan and for corporate or university teams for two years.

The move was made in response to the decision of top prospect Junichi Tazawa to skip the draft and deal directly with MLB clubs, thus freeing himself from the seven years of service that would be required of him once he entered the Japanese system (no longer nine, as the Japan Times article says.)

Aside from seemingly casting the NPB-MLB discrepancy as a problem that’s primarily the fault of players, the move is the worst kind of self-destructive trade barrier.  What good is going to come from barring good, even top players, presumably experienced players by the time they return to Japan, from playing if teams want them?  Are many young prospects with dreams of a professional baseball career going to pass up their chance at the greater challenge, fame, and money of the Major Leagues because of a possible future punishment?  Doubtful.  The prospects in question will almost all be between 18 and 22 years old and will obviously think they have a shot, at least, at a spot on an MLB squad.  The period of ineligibility smacks of vindictiveness and will hurt NPB even more than losing talent to the MLB will.

Think of the players who would have been ineligible: No Shinjo on the 2006 Fighters, for example.  He helped fill seats, flog merchandise, and bring Nippon Ham their first championship in ages.  Would baseball have been better off if he’d simply retired after coming back to Japan?

This move is typical of the myopic, defensive, even petty approach too often taken by NPB bigwigs.  If any ban is instituted, it should be on those who insist on going to great lengths in a vain attempt to turn the clock back twenty years while denying the reality of the present and taking no serious steps to prepare for the future.