This year's draft is on Thursday the 26th in Japan at 5pm; which means Thursday morning at 1am here in California.
Moving the commentary to below the grid now. Current state of things is that it's Friday morning and I have the entire draft table translated and the entire ikusei list, except that the Hawks didn't put out much info on their ikusei guys and I haven't had time to research them yet.
Name Pos HS/Univ/Company T/B DOB Ht/Wt -------------------- --- --------------- --- ---------- ------- Marines1 Kotaro Kiyomiya1 Hisanori Yasuda IF Riseisha HS R/L 04/15/1999 188/95 2 Yudai Fujioka IF Toyota R/L 08/08/1993 177/78 3 Daiki Yamamoto P Mitsubishi Okayama L/L 11/10/1995 182/73 4 Tsuyoshi Sugano OF Hitachi R/L 05/06/1993 173/80 5 Keita Watanabe P NTT Higashinihon R/R 09/13/1993 177/70 6 Shoji Nagano P Honda L/L 03/02/1993 181/82 i1 Koshiro Wada OF Toyama Thunderbirds L/L 01/14/1999 185/72 i2 Ryotaro Mori P Miyakonojo Shogyo HS R/L 04/22/1999 180/80 Swallows1 Kotaro Kiyomiya1 Munetaka Murakami C Kyushu Gakuin HS R/L 02/02/2000 186/96 2 Yuma Ohshita P Mitsubishi Hiroshima R/L 07/06/1992 179/84 3 Harutaka Kuramoto P Okayama Shogyo Univ R/R 05/16/1995 186/95 4 Yasutaka Shiomi OF JX-ENEOS R/R 06/12/1993 179/73 5 Yuto Kanakubo P Tokai Ichihara Boyo HS R/L 11/04/1999 183/75 6 Takeshi Miyamoto IF Nara Gakuen Univ R/L 04/03/1995 181/78 7 Naoki Matsumoto C Seino Unyu R/R 10/17/1993 177/85 8 Takumi Numata P Ishikawa Million Stars R/R 03/04/1994 185/85 Fighters 1 Kotaro Kiyomiya IF Waseda Jitsugyo HS R/L 05/25/1999 184/102 2 Takahiro Nishimura P NTT Higashinihon R/R 05/06/1993 177/87 3 Eito Tanaka P Yanagigaura HS R/L 07/13/1999 184/70 4 Yuhei Nanba IF Soshi Gakuen HS R/L 05/06/1999 178/76 5 Ryuji Kitaura P Hakuohdai Ashikaga HS L/L 01/12/2000 184/85 6 Ryotaro Suzuki P Tohoku Gakuin Univ R/R 02/18/1996 183/83 7 Kohei Miyadai P Tokyo Univ L/L 07/01/1995 178/83 Dragons1 Shosei Nakamura1 Hiroshi Suzuki P Yamaha R/R 03/22/1997 181/95 2 Sho Ishikawa P Seiran Taito HS R/L 12/14/1999 179/81 3 Wataru Takamatsu IF Takikawa #2 HS R/L 07/02/1999 176/65 4 Tatsuya Shimizu P Hanasaki Tokuharu HS R/R 11/03/1999 182/83 5 Kosuke Itoh OF Chukyodai Chukyo HS R/R 02/03/2000 173/76 6 Takumi Yamamoto P Nishinomiya Shiritsu HS R/R 01/31/2000 167/71 i1 Akito Ohkura P Tokushima Indigo Socks R/R 05/15/1994 191/88 i2 Kento Mark Ishida P Ryukoku Univ R/R 07/18/1995 184/83 Buffaloes 1 Daiki Tajima P JR Higashinihon L/L 08/03/1996 182/77 2 Kohei Suzuki P Hitachi R/R 01/21/1994 186/88 3 Shuhei Fukuda IF NTT Higashinihon R/L 08/08/1992 169/69 4 Hitomi Honda P Seisa Kokusai HS R/L 07/27/1999 181/75 5 Ryo Nishimura C Subaru R/R 02/21/1996 176/75 6 Hayato Nishiura OF Meitoku Gijuku HS R/L 05/21/1999 178/70 7 Shinya Hirosawa IF Oita Shogyo HS R/R 08/11/1999 175/67 8 Tatsuya Yamaashi IF Honda Suzuka R/R 10/26/1993 174/74 i1 Hiroki Inatomi C Sanda Shosei HS R/L 04/27/1999 178/88 i2 Kohei Azuma P Kobe Koryo HS R/R 12/14/1999 178/73 i3 Akihito Hiyane IF Hiryu HS R/R 08/25/1999 182/82 i4 Felipe Kisu Desouza C Gotenbani HS R/R 09/04/1999 176/73 Giants1 Kotaro Kiyomiya 1 Munetaka Murakami1 Takuya Kuwahara P Chuo University R/R 03/26/1996 175/78 2 Yukinori Kishida C Osaka Gas R/R 10/10/1996 175/78 3 Takumi Ohshiro C NTT Nishinihon R/L 02/11/1993 187/86 4 Takumi Kitamura IF Asia Univ R/R 08/29/1995 181/87 5 Shunta Tanaka IF Hitachi R/L 08/18/1993 180/83 6 Akihiro Wakabayashi IF JX-ENEOS R/S 08/26/1993 180/77 7 Kaito Murakami OF Nara Gakuen Univ R/R 07/07/1995 189/94 8 Dai Yuasa IF Takasaki Fukushi HS R/R 01/24/2000 170/67 i1 Kenshin Higa IF Moriokadai HS R/L 01/12/2000 180/82 i2 Shingo Yamakami P Tokiwa HS R/R 09/21/1999 183/75 i3 Shun Kasai OF Tohoku Fukushi Univ R/R 04/20/1995 180/80 i4 Yudai Tanaka P Haguro HS R/R 09/14/1999 183/75 i5 Rui Hirohata C Rissho Univ R/L 06/17/1995 177/72 i6 Shohei Koyama C Kansai Univ R/R 03/25/1996 170/70 i7 Koki Orishita IF Shinno HS R/R 02/14/2000 177/86 i8 Sota Arai OF Sekine Gakuen HS R/R 09/27/1999 190/98 Eagles1 Kotaro Kiyomiya 1 Munetaka Murakami1 Hiroki Kondoh P Okayama Shogyo Univ R/R 06/27/1995 187/92 2 Masaki Iwami OF Keio Univ R/R 07/10/1994 187/107 3 Tsuyoshi Yamasaki IF Kokugakuin Univ R/L 12/29/1995 172/72 4 Yuki Watanabe P Yokohama Shokadai L/L 11/08/1995 182/82 5 Akito Tanaka OF Hyogo Blue Thunders R/R 03/05/1996 181/98 6 Kenji Nishimaki IF Sendai Ikuei R/R 04/22/1999 168/73 7 Kanji Teraoka OF Ishikawa Million Stars R/R 12/03/1992 180/85 i1 Ryotaro Ide P Kyushu Sangyo Univ R/L 03/20/1996 185/83 i2 Kyoshiro Matsumoto IF Konan HS (Fukushima) R/L 09/21/1999 172/72 i3 Kazuki Nakamura OF Tenri Univ L/L 10/26/1995 173/75 Baystars 1 Katsuki Azuma P Ritsumeikan Univ L/L 11/29/1995 170/70 2 Kazuki Kamizato OF Nihon Seimei R/L 01/17/1994 178/83 3 Kosuke Sakaguchi P Hokkai HS R/L 08/15/1999 186/80 4 Shunsuke Saitoh P JX-ENEOS R/R 01/07/1994 176/81 5 Shuto Sakurai P Nichidai Sanko HS L/L 06/25/1999 178/80 6 Koki Terada P Ishikawa Million Stars R/R 01/05/1992 175/73 7 Shumei Miyamoto IF Panasonic R/L 07/24/1996 176/81 8 Taishi Kusumoto IF Tohoku Fukushi Univ R/L 07/07/1995 180/77 9 Yudai Yamamoto C Shiga United R/R 09/11/1998 178/78 i1 Koh Nakagawa P Minoshima HS R/R 10/02/1999 178/79 Lions1 Daiki Tajima1 Hiromasa Saitoh P Meiji Univ L/L 06/03/1995 178/75 2 Manaya Nishikawa OF Hanasaki Tokuharu HS R/L 06/10/1999 180/78 3 Sho Itoh P Tokushima Indigo Socks R/R 02/10/1999 175/70 4 Kaima Taira P Yaeyama Shoko HS R/L 11/15/1999 173/80 5 Kaito Yoza P Gifu Keizai Univ R/R 09/15/1995 173/74 6 Ryusei Tsunashima IF Itoigakawa Hakurei HS R/L 01/21/2000 178/72 i1 Wataru Takagi OF Shinsokan HS R/L 12/06/1999 180/77 i2 Masato Saitoh C Hokkaido Kyoiku Univ R/L 08/07/1995 180/86 Tigers1 Kotaro Kiyomiya 1 Hisanori Yasuda1 Kosuke Baba P Sendai Univ R/R 05/18/1995 180/88 2 Haruto Takahashi P Asia Univ L/L 11/07/1995 179/80 3 Takahiro Kumagai IF Rikkio Univ R/R 11/10/1995 175/70 4 Kairi Shimada P Jobu Univ R/L 02/06/1996 175/72 5 Masaki Tanigawa P Kyushu Mitsubishi R/R 10/06/1992 175/76 6 Joichiro Maki P Keishin HS R/L 09/23/1998 181/81 i1 Masaki Ishii P Jobu Univ L/L 07/12/1995 180/82 Hawks1 Kotaro Kiyomiya 1 Hisanori Yasuda 1 Kosuke Baba1 Haruto Yoshizumi P Tsuruoka Higashi HS R/R 03/12/2000 185/85 2 Rei Takahashi P Senshu Univ R/R 11/02/1995 187/80 3 Shu Masuda OF Yokohama HS R/R 05/21/1999 185/83 4 Arata Shiino P Kokushikan Univ R/R 10/10/1995 194/88 5 Fumimaru Taura P Shugakukan HS L/L 09/21/1999 170/75 i1 Shuto Ogata P Ishikawa Gijuku HS R/L i2 Ukyo Shuutoh IF Nodai Univ Okhotsk R/L i3 Richard Sunakawa IF Okinawa Shogaku HS R/R i4 Kotaro Ohtake P Waseda Univ L/L i5 Yamato Higurashi OF Tachibana Gakuen HS L/L i6 Yuta Watanabe P Niigata Albirex L/L note: the Hawks provided very little detail on their ikusei and I haven't had time to research yet Carp 1 Shosei Nakamura C Koryo HS R/R 06/06/1999 181/77 2 Sho Yamaguchi P Kumamoto Kogyo HS R/L 07/13/1999 184/70 3 Brad Makoto Kenma P Nihon Bunri Univ R/R 06/05/1995 192/90 4 Atsushi Nagai OF Nishogakusha HS R/R 01/10/2000 178/91 5 Atsushi Endoh P Kasumigaura HS R/R 04/08/1999 186/74 6 Takato Hiraoka P Chubu Gakuin Univ R/R 08/05/1995 185/92 i1 Tsubasa Okabayashi P Komono HS (Mie) R/R 08/09/1999 183/85 i2 Reira Fujii P Omagari Kogyo HS R/R 09/17/1999 181/86 i3 Ken Sasaki P Okasa HS R/R 04/02/1999 189/78
(commentary starts here)
I've got my usual set of draft magazines, a whole ton of industrial league info, various high school stuff, and yet I still have no idea what will happen on draft day. There are a few players I have particular interest in; obviously Kohei Miyadai from Todai is the big question for me this year, and I wonder if my submarine boys Rei Takahashi (Senshu) and Yuya Hasegawa (Hosei) will get drafted at all. I also feel like there are more katakana names in the set than usual, such as RHP Brad Makoto Kenma from Nihon Bunri, Deshawn Hiroyuki Satoh (Whitlow?) from Yokohama Shogyodai, Mark Kento Ishida from Ryukoku... the high school set has a Richard Sunagawa who looks like a big kid from Okinawa Shogyo and a Felipe Kisu Desouza who was born in Japan to Brazilian parents. Also Montell Higuma, Julius's brother.
Anyway, hopefully the TBS stream will actually work this year, who knows. More hopefully, we'll get to see/hear my favorite college catcher and best smile on TV, Tomohiro Kiire, covering the draft for them. He's been tapped many times by their station to talk about Miyadai this semester, and I saw him a few times at Jingu when I was there this fall, so I can only hope :)
Otherwise I'll just be watching the picks come in on various news sources such as Nikkan Sports as usual.
1am! I've got a sketchy but reasonably stable video feed of the draft. Hopefully it'll work :)
Let's see, the order people walk in is the draft order:
Marines (big deal made about Iguchi coming in as new manager and all)
Swallows
Fighters
Dragons
Buffaloes
Giants (heh the announcers pointed out how they didn't make the playoffs.)
Eagles
Baystars (Rami-chan looking dapper and the whole thing about making the series after 19 years whee)
Lions
Tigers
Hawks
Carp
I would comment how every team is said to want to go after Kiyomiya but seriously I'm so sick of hearing about him I just hope the lottery is quick and painless and then we can get on with our lives :)
1:08am: okay, everyone is in there now. Let the fun begin!
(by which I really mean there are 6 minutes of commercials and then maybe some fun will begin. sheesh)
Okay, everyone's put in their first round picks. And the reveals!
Marines: Kotaro Kiyomiya, IF, Waseda Jitsugyo HS
Swallows: Kiyomiya
Fighters: Kiyomiya (fuuuuuuuuuck)
Dragons: Shosei Nakamura, C, Koryo HS
Buffaloes: Daiki Tajima, LHP, JR Higashinihon
Giants: Kiyomiya
Eagles: Kiyomiya
Baystars: Katsuki Azuma, LHP, Ritsumeikan Univ
Lions: Tajima
Tigers: Kiyomiya
Hawks: Kiyomiya
Carp: Nakamura
So that's 7 teams going for Kiyomiya, 2 for Tajima, 2 for Nakamura, and then Azuma goes to the Baystars uncontested. Good for them and for him :)
uhhh... I'm sorry for the delay.
the Fighters got Kiyomiya, which is my worst fucking nightmare, so I'm stalled a little while I deal with that fact. It's now 1:26am and Hiroshima got Nakamura.
Orix gets Tajima! Well, that's gonna be a JR East party for sure.
Okay, well, second round of the first round about to begin...
Marines: Hisanori Yasuda, IF, Riseisha HS
Swallows: Munetaka Murakami, C Kyushu Gakuin HS
Dragons: Hiroshi Suzuki, RHP, Yamaha
Giants: Murakami
Eagles: Murakami
Lions: Hiromasa Saitoh, LHP, Meiji Univ
Tigers: Yasuda
Hawks: Yasuda
The announcers make a really big deal about which hand Kanemoto puts into the box each time for some reason but... looks like Yasuda is going to Chiba Lotte (it's now 1:37am)
Giants: Takuya Kuwahara, RHP, Chuo University
Eagles: Hiroki Kondoh, RHP, Okayama Shogyo University
Tigers: Kosuke Baba, RHP, Sendai University
Hawks: Baba (wow, another runoff)
(...and the Tigers get Baba, okay)
Hawks: Haruto Yoshizumi, RHP, Tsuruoka East HS
So the first round is "done" at 1:45am. Fun times. Okay, time for me to start filling out the grid. Wake me up when Miyadai gets drafted, okay?
Long interview with Kiyomiya, he mentioned how he wants to go to the majors someday, the announcers were like "we hear you're studying English for it, wanna speak some?" and he was like "lol no that would be too embarrassing".
sigh
2:18am hey, Rakuten just took Masaki Iwami in the second round, I guess that's kind of a good thing, I would rather him be on the Fighters but well you know what happened so...
(also while entering data I noticed our second round pick Nishimura is exactly one year older than Kazunari Ishii because I just do that)
churning on...
2:21am: well my favorite college submariner Rei Takahashi got drafted!
...unfortunately, it was by the Hawks.
Also uh someone has to tell Rakuten that it is really not fair that they got Keio's Iwami AND Tsuyoshi Yamasaki from Kokugakuin, seriously.
So I went headsdown on the grid a whole lot and then at 3:20am the Fighters finally took Kohei Miyadai with their final and 7th pick and the entire evening has been worth it even if I'm still kind of bummed about where some people went. It was kind of funny because basically, I was translating, translating, then saw suddenly (24) Twitter and knew exactly what had to have happened (I follow a lot of Todai fans/players, and a lot of Fighters fans, and so there was quite a bit of confluence). Very happy to see it. Now the only question is: will he come to Arizona, and will I get a uniform made before then somehow? (I do feel like there's no real rush; I would be really surprised if he didn't spend a while in Kamagaya next year.)
A few stray thoughts as I wrap up for the evening:
On the foreign-ish players: Brad Kemna got drafted by the Carp, should be interesting to see how he fits in there, with Allen Kuri and all. That Felipe Kisu Desouza kid I mentioned got taken by the Buffaloes in the ikusei draft, and Ishida Mark Kento went to the Dragons, and Richard Sunagawa to the Hawks.
So many Big 6 alumni got drafted from industrial teams that I almost entered their college several times (Fukuda from Meiji->NTT, Shunsuke Saitoh from Rikkio->ENEOS, also Naoki Matsumoto Rikkio->Seino). Super glad to see Akihiro Wakabayashi (Hosei->ENEOS) got drafted even if it's by the Giants so he is now dead to me. Someone pointed out on Twitter that his college, industrial, and pro teams are all orange-colored, kinda funny.
It felt very weird to enter draftees who were born in 2000 for some reason.
Several indie/industrial teams had a whole bunch of people taken, like the Ishikawa Million Stars in the BCL, and the NTT corporate teams, and Hitachi and ENEOS and all (well ENEOS always has a bunch, but still).