Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) clubs selected 74 players during the October 26th NPB Draft in Tokyo. An official press release from the Samurai Japan National Baseball Team stated that 14 of the players drafted have played on the National Team.
Right handed pitcher Takahisha Hayakawa, pictured above, was selected in the first round by the Rakuten Golden Eagles from Wased University. He represented Japan at the U-18 Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) Championship. He also played for Japan against the United States in the collegiate challenge between the two baseball powers.
The Nippon-Ham Fighters selected a couple of pitchers who have represented Japan at the U-15 level: Omi Ito (Komazawa University) and Nemoto Keisuke (Komachi Chuo High School).
The Chiba Lotte Marines number one pick, pitcher Akiaki Suzuki from Hosei University, also represented Japan at the U-15 level.
The Seibu Lions selected two players who played for the U-15 National Team in 2017. Both Takaya Yamamura (Tokai University Sagami) and Yuta Nakamikawa are two-way players who have excelled as hitters and pitchers.
