A professional baseball draft meeting will be held on the 26th. This year, high school pitcher Yugo Maeda of Osaka Toin High School is attracting attention, while among college students, there are more pitchers who are evaluated for their immediate ability, such as pitcher Tsunehiro Hanto of Aoyama Gakuin University, and it is expected that he will be selected at the top of the list.

The professional baseball draft meeting was held in Tokyo on the 26th, and until last year, 12 baseball teams were held without spectators in separate rooms due to the influence of the new coronavirus, but this year it will be held for the first time in four years with the people involved gathered together and watched by spectators.

High school student

Pitcher MAEDA Yugo (Osaka Toin High School)

The focus of the high school students is left-handed pitcher Yugo Maeda of Osaka Toin High School, who won the Senbatsu tournament in his second year and reached the top four in his third year at Koshien, and also represented Japan at the Under-2 World Cup held in Taiwan in September, leading Japan to their first championship.

With another high-profile high school student, Rintaro Sasaki of Hanamaki Higashi High School in Iwate, announcing that he will not submit a "professional baseball application form" and will aim to go to an American university, it will be interesting to see who will acquire the negotiating rights for the left-hander who made Koshien excited.

University Students and Working Adults

On the other hand, college students are attracting a lot of attention this year, and there are many pitchers who are evaluated for their immediate ability.

Pitcher TSUNEHIRO Hayato (Aoyama Gakuin University)

First is pitcher Tsunehiro of Aoyama Gakuin University. A graduate of Oita Maizuru High School, he has never competed in Koshien in high school, but despite his slightly slender height of 1 meter 80 cm and weight of 73 kg, he has a sharp straight and forkball that reaches the mid-150 km range with a supple arm swing, and has revealed that Hiroshima will be the No. 1 pick so far.

In addition, rivals who have competed with each other in Toto University baseball have also received high praise from professional scouts.

Pitcher Haruki Hosono (Toyo University)

Toyo University's pitcher Haruki Hosono is a left-handed pitcher with the fastest speed of 158 kilometers, and Kokugakuin University's Natsuki Takeuchi is a left-handed pitcher who is highly regarded for his accurate control and stability to create games as a starter.

Pitcher Natsuki Takeuchi (Kokugakuin University)

Pitcher KAISHO Shimomura (Aoyama Gakuin University)

Aoyama Gakuin University pitcher Kaisho Shimomura is a right-handed pitcher who throws straight and changeup balls with a maximum speed of 155 km, and together with pitcher Tsunehiro, he contributed to the league championship in the spring and summer of this season.

From left: NISHIDATE Yuyo (Chuo Univ.), SAKA Katsu (Asia Univ.), NISHIDATE Kota (Senshu Univ.)

Chuo University's pitcher Yuyo Nishidate is a right-handed pitcher who throws with a quick motion even when there are no runners, with a maximum speed of 155 kilometers and a sharp changeup, and Asia University pitcher Masaru Kusaka is a slender right-hander with a maximum speed of 153 kilometers and abundant stamina.

In the second division of Toto University baseball, Senshu University's right-handed pitcher, Akira Nishidate, who throws a powerful straight pitcher with a height of 2 meter and 1 centimeters and a maximum speed of 88 kilometers, is highly evaluated.

The seven pitchers of Toto University baseball introduced so far have the fastest straights exceeding 7 km, and in all of the interviews so far, they have all been top candidates, including the first draft pick, and if seven first-round draft picks are selected from one league, including the second division, it will be unusual in the history of the 150-year draft.

TOKAI Takateru (ENEOS)

Among working adults, ENEOS' Takateru Dokai is attracting attention. His father is Hirofumi Tokai, who played for Yakult, and he is a top candidate among scouts as an outfielder with skillful bat control and long-hitting ability.

Last year, nine of the 12 clubs announced their No. 9 picks in advance, and the Giants and Hanshin-nominated Takamatsu Commercial pitcher Shogo Asano (who joined the Giants) and Rikkyo University's pitcher Yasumasa Shoji (who joined Rakuten) were the two players who competed with the Giants and Hanshin.

On the other hand, as of the 1th, only two baseball teams, Hiroshima pitcher Tsunehiro and Seibu pitcher Takeuchi, announced the No. 2 pick in advance, and what kind of strategy each team will use until the day of the draft while it is said to be a "bountiful harvest" mainly for college pitchers, and at the draft meeting held with the spectators watching for the first time in four years, It will be interesting to see what kind of scene you can see this year.