But the draft is always important to me and I'm not about to stop this tradition (this will be my 9th year in a row translating the draft), even if I end up not being able to stay awake the entire night.
Since I'm not in Japan this year either I have absolutely no idea if I'll be able to watch the live broadcast, but I'll be watching info come across sources such as Nikkan Sports, Sponichi, Sanspo, etc. I bought some draft magazines when I was over there (only 2 weeks ago) and should be fairly well-equipped to deal with it.
Well, aside from being annoyed if the Fighters seriously go for Arihara instead of Sachiya Yamasaki.
Moving the chart up to the front... rant and liveblog below, for those who just want to see the results. I believe I'm 100% done tracking down info now (as of 12pm on the 23rd in the US)
By the way, I do want to call out a few interesting players since they may get lost in the shuffle otherwise:
- Yuma Mune, Orix round 2 - his father is from Ghana. They call him "The Munerin of Yokohama" apparently, though, he is supposedly very funny and has a similar play style.
- Luciano Fernando, Eagles round 4 - his grandmother is Japanese and other than that he's from a Japanese-descended Brazilian family, came to Japan when he was 5. Played HS baseball at Kiryu Daiichi and supposedly has a crazy strong arm.
- Takuya Kawai, Giants Ikusei #2 - actually graduated from Obirin in 2012, but stayed there coaching the college team, and decided to somehow enter the draft this year.
- Shinnosuke Takahashi, Giants Ikusei #4 - much as another Shinnosuke entering the Giants disgusts me, this guy is kinda interesting, after high school he joined an agency that is geared towards trying to get Japanese players into the Majors or at least into American baseball clubs, so he played ball for the SUNY Herkimer Generals the last few years (page here)
- Yusuke Tamamura, Lions #4. I still don't know what his story is. He was a superstar pitcher at Tsuruga Kehi, the Fukui Prefecture powerhouse HS team, and pages show he intended to go to Asia University, but apparently did not, as I can't find him listed in any of my college magazines. I find this more curious because it is definitely not the first case of me finding a high school star player who decided NOT to put up with the ridiculous military-like way the players train at Asia (the one before this was Kenichi Suganuma, from my favorite Sanko team -- he was at Asia for about a semester before he said "screw this" and took a semester off and enrolled at Nittaidai the next year).
Name Pos HS/Univ/Company T/B DOB Ht/Wt -------------------- --- --------------- --- ---------- ------- Softbank Hawks 1 Yuki Matsumoto P Morioka Univ HS R/L 04/14/1996 183/80 2 Ryoya Kurihara C Harue Tech HS R/L 07/04/1996 178/73 3 Shogo Furuzawa IF Kyushu Kokusai Univ HS R/R 09/05/1996 178/80 4 Shunsuke Kasaya P Oita Shogyo HS L/L 03/17/1997 172/62 5 Yosuke Shimabukuro P Chuo Univ L/L 10/24/1992 173/71 Yomiuri Giants 1 Kazuma Okamoto IF Chiben Gakuen HS R/R 06/30/1996 183/95 2 Chiaki Tone P Nihon Univ L/L 10/17/1992 175/90 3 Hayato Takagi P Mitsubishi Eng Nagoya R/R 07/13/1989 178/80 4 Daiki Tanaka P Kokugakuin Univ L/L 08/07/1992 182/76 I1 Shinpei Shinohara P Kagawa Olive Guyners R/L 06/13/1990 186/95 I2 Takuya Kawai IF Oberlin Univ* R/S 11/25/1990 174/71 I3 Takaya Tanaka C Yamanashi Gakuin Univ R/L 08/27/1992 178/80 I4 Shinnosuke Takahashi P Kisarazu Sogo HS* R/L 07/25/1994 187/85 * Kawai graduated from Obirin/Oberlin in 2012 but stayed there as a coach for the college team. * Takahashi had actually been playing in the US for the SUNY Herkimer Generals (player page) Orix Buffaloes 1 Sachiya Yamasaki P Meiji Univ L/L 09/09/1992 186/88 2 Yuma Mune IF Yokohama Hayato HS R/L 06/07/1996 181/75 3 Kodai Sano P Oita HS R/R 09/02/1996 182/70 4 Ban Takagi P NTT Higashinihon R/R 06/01/1990 181/80 5 Koki Saitoh P Hokusho HS L/L 12/18/1996 180/77 6 Seiichi Sakayori P JR Higashinihon L/L 04/05/1990 180/70 7 Masahiro Nishino IF JR Higashinihon R/L 08/02/1990 166/66 8 Yuya Oda OF Nihon Seimei R/L 11/04/1989 172/75 9 Yu Suzuki P Yukigaya HS R/R 02/05/1997 180/75 Hanshin Tigers1 Kohei Arihara 1 Yasuaki Yamasaki1 Yuya Yokoyama P Shin Nittetsu Kashima L/L 02/21/1994 182/82 2 Tsuyoshi Ishizaki P Shin Nittetsu Kashima R/R 09/09/1990 182/85 3 Taiga Egoshi OF Komazawa Univ R/R 03/12/1993 182/85 4 Koki Moriya P Honda Suzuka R/R 11/25/1993 183/78 5 Kai Ueda IF Ohmi HS R/R 04/19/1996 175/72 Nippon Ham Fighters 1 Kohei Arihara P Waseda Univ R/R 08/11/1992 187/90 2 Yushi Shimizu C Kyushu Kokusai Univ HS R/R 05/22/1996 184/86 3 Daiki Asama OF Yokohama HS R/L 06/21/1996 182/74 4 Naoya Ishikawa P Yamagata Chuo HS R/R 07/11/1996 191/78 5 Hayao Segawa P Muroran Sharks L/L 10/21/1986 177/77 6 Shota Tatsuta P Yamato Koryo HS R/R 06/04/1996 181/82 7 Yuto Takahama IF Yokohama HS R/R 08/08/1996 182/82 8 Kengo Ota IF Kawagoe Kogyo HS R/L 01/19/1997 186/78 9 Masataka Satoh IF Aichi Keisei HS R/R 04/16/1996 169/75 Hiroshima Carp1 Kohei Arihara1 Takayoshi Nohma IF Chubu Gakuin Univ R/L 01/28/1993 180/80 2 Kazuki Yabuta P Asia Univ R/R 08/07/1992 188/82 3 Atsuya Horie P Takamatsu Kita HS L/L 02/21/1997 177/72 4 Koya Fujii P Okayama Sanyo HS R/L 07/29/1996 181/81 5 Tatsuki Kuwahara IF Tokuha Kikukawa HS R/L 07/04/1996 182/73 6 Tetsuya Iida P JR Higashinihon L/L 03/28/1991 182/80 7 Daisuke Tada C Naruto Uzushio HS R/R 05/25/1996 189/81 I1 Kodai Matsuura C MSH Medical Vocational R/R 04/06/1993 175/75 I2 Satoshi Kimura IF Tokoha Tachibana HS R/R 05/06/1996 180/75 Chiba Lotte Marines 1 Shogo Nakamura IF Waseda Univ R/R 05/28/1992 180/75 2 Eisuke Tanaka P Kyoto Univ R/R 04/02/1992 180/75 3 Daiki Iwashita P Seiryo HS R/R 10/02/1996 181/83 4 Kandai Terashima C Soka Univ R/R 10/12/1992 183/82 5 Kazuya Katsuki IF Osaka Toin HS R/L 04/16/1996 176/83 6 Atsushi Miyazaki P Hiroshima Kokusai Univ L/L 12/08/1992 171/72 7 Naoto Wakimoto OF Kendai Takasaki HS R/L 06/10/1996 180/80 Chunichi Dragons 1 Ryosuke Nomura P Mitsubishi Pwr Yokohama R/R 07/09/1993 187/80 2 Tomohiro Hamada P Kyushu Sangyo Univ L/L 10/01/1992 183/75 3 Shota Tomonaga OF Nippon Express R/L 04/01/1991 170/76 4 Shun Ishikawa IF JX-ENEOS R/R 05/26/1990 178/81 5 Takuma Katoh C Aoyama Gakuin Univ R/R 04/29/1992 174/71 6 Masataka Iryo OF JX-ENEOS R/L 11/04/1989 175/86 7 Issei Endoh IF Tokyo Gas R/L 03/23/1989 180/78 8 Masashi Yamamoto P Tokushima Indigo Socks R/L 11/03/1994 173/78 9 Takeshi Kaneko P Osaka Shogyo Univ R/R 02/25/1993 183/90 I1 Yuichi Satoh P Tokaidai Sagami HS R/R 09/30/1996 192/95 I2 Kodai Ishigaki P Inabe Sogo HS R/R 08/08/1996 180/76 I3 Masaru Fujiyoshi C Shugakukan HS R/L 08/07/1996 180/74 I4 Hiroki Kondoh OF Meijo Univ R/R 02/12/1993 179/78 Seibu Lions 1 Kona Takahashi P Maebashi Ikuei HS R/R 02/03/1997 188/88 2 Yasuo Sano P Heisei Kokusai Univ L/L 01/18/1993 176/78 3 Shuta Tonosaki IF Fuji Univ R/R 03/14/1993 177/79 4 Yusuke Tamamura P Tsuruga Kehi HS* R/R 11/04/1995 181/79 5 Haruka Yamada IF Saga Kogyo HS R/R 09/30/1996 177/73 I1 Daisuke Togawa OF Hokkai HS R/L 04/29/1996 188/86 * Tamamura graduated from Tsuruga Kehi LAST year. Supposedly he was going to attend Asia University, as I saw him listed there a bunch, but must have dropped out. DeNA Baystars1 Kohei Arihara1 Yasuaki Yamasaki P Asia Univ R/R 10/02/1992 177/84 2 Kenta Ishida P Hosei Univ L/L 03/01/1993 180/83 3 Toshihiko Kuramoto IF Nihon Shinyaku R/L 01/07/1991 180/82 4 Motoharu Fukuchi P Mitsubishi Pwr Yokohama L/L 06/21/1990 182/88 5 Koki Yamashita IF Kokugakuin Univ R/L 01/31/1993 173/70 6 Hiroki Momose IF Matsumoto Daiichi HS R/L 03/11/1997 176/69 7 Satoshi Iizuka P Nihon Bunri HS R/L 10/11/1996 185/76 I1 Toui Kamei C Nissei HS R/R 02/09/1997 180/75 Rakuten Eagles 1 Tomohiro Anraku P Saibi HS R/L 11/04/1996 187/88 2 Fumiya Ono P Nishinihon Tankidai HS R/R 10/23/1996 176/71 3 Masayoshi Fukuda OF Chuo Univ R/R 04/17/1992 174/76 4 Luciano Fernando OF Hakuoh Univ R/R 04/13/1992 175/79 5 Takahiro Irino P Tokushima Indigo Socks R/L 11/26/1988 180/84 6 Masashi Katoh P JR Higashinihon Tohoku R/R 09/07/1989 173/71 7 Ryota Itoh OF Nihon Seishi Ishinomaki L/L 07/27/1989 194/92 I1 Takumaru Yaoita OF Seikou Gakuin HS R/L 01/17/1997 180/76 I2 Hiroki Osakaya IF Aomori Chuo Gakuin Univ R/R 11/09/1992 179/83 Yakult Swallows1 Tomohiro Anraku1 Shingo Takeshita P Yamaha L/L 10/20/1990 180/84 2 Ren Kazahari P Nodai Hokkaido Okhotsk R/R 02/26/1993 181/82 3 Koji Yamakawa C Fukuoka Kodai Joto HS R/R 11/15/1996 184/86 4 Tetsuya Terada P Kagawa Olive Guyners R/R 04/02/1987 185/92 5 Yusaku Nakamoto P Hakuwa Victorys L/L 12/12/1988 178/76 6 Hiroaki Dohi P Honda Suzuka R/R 11/16/1990 181/85 7 Izumi Hara OF Daichi Kogyo Univ R/R 07/26/1992 190/96 I1 Shogo Nakashima P Fukuoka Univ R/R 06/15/1992 178/72
First round starting now! OMG!
Swallows - Tomohiro Anraku (P, Saibi HS)
Eagles - Anraku
Baystars - Kohei Arihara (P, Waseda Univ)
Lions - Kona Takahashi (P, Maebashi Ikuei HS)
Dragons - Ryosuke Nomura (P, Mitsubishi Power Yokohama)
Marines - Shogo Nakamura (IF, Waseda Univ)
Carp - Arihara
Fighters - Arihara
Tigers - Arihara
Buffaloes - Sachiya Yamasaki (P, Meiji Univ)
Giants - Kazuma Okamoto (IF, Chiben Wakayama HS)
Hawks - Yuki Matsumoto (P, Morioka Univ HS)
Looks like Anraku is going to the Eagles -- heh, anRAKU, RAKUten, it makes sense.
Arihara is apparently going to... the Fighters. ARRRRGGGGHHH. I guess I'll get used to it just like I did when they took Yuki Saitoh a few years back, and I actually believe Arihara is a better pitcher, but I'm just not a Waseda fan, you all know that.
Okay so the second "first" round BECAUSE YOU IDIOTS ALL TOOK ARIHARA:
Yakult: Shingo Takeshita (P, Yamaha)
Baystars: Yasuaki Yamasaki (P, Asia Univ)
Carp: Takayoshi Nohma (IF, Chubu Gakuin Univ)
Hanshin: Yamasaki
And Yamasaki, who lived down the street from the JHS I taught at but went to the next one over because mine had no baseball team, is going to be a Yokohama Baystar.
Hanshin will now pick... Yuya Yokoyama (P, Shin Nittetsu Sumikin Kashima), thus ending the first round. I suppose that was less painful than some past years.
So the ACTUAL FIRST ROUND RESULTS:
Swallows - Shingo Takeshita (P, Yamaha)
Eagles - Tomohiro Anraku (P, Saibi HS)
Baystars - Yasuaki Yamasaki (P, Asia Univ)
Lions - Kona Takahashi (P, Maebashi Ikuei HS)
Dragons - Ryosuke Nomura (P, Mitsubishi Power Yokohama)
Marines - Shogo Nakamura (IF, Waseda Univ)
Carp - Takayoshi Nohma (IF, Chubu Gakuin Univ)
Fighters - Kohei Arihara (P, Waseda Univ)
Tigers - Yuya Yokoyama (P, Shin Nittetsu Sumikin Kashima)
Buffaloes - Sachiya Yamasaki (P, Meiji Univ)
Giants - Kazuma Okamoto (IF, Chiben Gakuen HS)
Hawks - Yuki Matsumoto (P, Morioka Univ HS)
Turning off the TV and concentrating on the website updates until I fall asleep from here on in. I'll add notes as I get excited or angry about picks (especially wondering whether some of my former favorite college guys who are now in the industrial leagues will get drafted)
So here we go into round 2, and I'm reminiscing about how annoyed I was at Yasuaki Yamasaki in the 2010 East Tokyo HS tourney because I planned my schedule to see Teikyo HS at Jingu and then he choked in front of scouts, they lost, instead I got to see Shutoku and Taiki Mitsumata so I guess it all worked out okay, but anyway,
THE BAYSTARS JUST TOOK KENTA ISHIDA WITH THEIR 2ND ROUND PICK BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS TAKE A HOSEI PITCHER WITH THE 2ND ROUND PICK AND OMG THAT'S NUTS because now they have Kagami, Mishima, Mikami, and Ishida. I guess Mikami technically came out of ENEOS and was a 4th rounder but the other three were all 2nd round out of Hosei to Baystars and wow.
And hey, Eisuke Tanaka got picked by Lotte in the 2nd round too! That's great! He will be the first pro player ever out of Kyoto University -- there was a super interesting article about him in the draft magazine including the details of his engineering thesis and how he went to a high school that "only practiced baseball for 90 minutes a day, thus meaning they would never go to Koshien" and so on, and how he came to Kyoto Univ and stopped their 60-game losing streak (we could use someone like that at Todai dammit) and so on. Yay!
Something that only comes up when you are entering data: Rakuten draft pick #2, Fumiya Ono, his birthday is today (Oct 23).
Hmm, so some notes, I'm glad to see the non-Japanese guys like Luciano Fernando (Brazilian) and Yuma Mune (half-Ghana) getting drafted, that's a step in the right direction.
Also okay so Shimabukuro DID get drafted. I was worried because he had a pretty crap year and Chuo has kinda sucked lately.