Thursday, October 29, 2009

2009 NPB Draft Liveblogging

Here is the table of information about this year's NPB draftees.

Liveblogging commentary has been moved below. The short version: Seibu gets Kikuchi. Life goes on.

This is being done in the same format as previous years' drafts.

I'm planning to make a separate photopost of the guys I've actually seen play (about 20 or so).

Update 2pm Saturday: Finished the Central League Draftees Photopost, with photos and stories. Check it out!

Update 10am Friday: Err... reversed the names so they would be First Last rather than the other way around.
Update, 8am Friday: All in, all info. Woohoo! Thanks to Sanspo for having the rest of the obscure guys available.
Update, 10:30pm: All draftees entered, all ikusei draftees entered, but birthdates missing for 3 players still. Draftees names and information confirmed on the respective team pages.
Update, 7pm: All basic draftees entered, about 75% of information entered. Ikusei will go in after I go eat some dinner.


Name Pos HS/Univ/Company B/T DOB Ht/Wt
-------------------- --- --------------- --- ---------- -------
Giants
1. Hisayoshi Chono OF Honda R/R 1984.12.06 180/80
2. Masato Kiyashiki C Kinkidai HS R/R 1991.06.19 180/82
3. Kyohei Tsuchimoto P JR Tokai R/R 1985.10.13 175/73
4. Tomoya Ichikawa C Saginomiya R/R 1985.05.09 176/76
5. Junpei Ono P Nihon Bunri Univ R/R 1987.04.05 178/81

Ikusei:
1. Masumi Hoshino P BCL Shinano Grandserows L/L 1984.04.04 181/72
2. Genki Kawano C Kyushu Kokusaidai HS R/L 1991.06.14 179/75
3. Naomasa Yokawa IF Konko Osaka HS R/R 1991.07.17 180/80
4. Kyohei Ohdachi P Okazaki Shoka Univ L/L 1987.08.20 178/70
5. Naoki Kanda P Gunma Univ R/R 1988.01.18 180/82

Dragons
1. Toshiya Okada P Chiben Wakayama HS L/L 1991.12.05 181/68
x Yusei Kikuchi
2. Ryuya Ogawa P Chiba Eiwa HS L/L 1991.09.03 182/72
3. Ryoji Nakata IF Asia Univ R/L 1987.11.03 171/115
4. Yusuke Matsui OF Tokyo Nodai R/R 1987.07.10 183/78
5. Yohei Ohshima OF Nihon Seimei L/L 1985.11.09 176/74
6. Takao Suwabe P Honda R/R 1988.07.31 178/83
7. Masato Matsui C Jobu Univ R/L 1987.11.19 177/78
8. Toshikazu Yoshida C Nara Sangyo Univ R/L 1987.04.27 178/70

Ikusei:
1. Kento Yachi P Takaoka Law Univ R/R 1988.01.15 180/68
2. Ryuichitaro Akada C Aichi Univ R/L 1988.01.07 178/80

Swallows
1. Masato Nakazawa P Toyota L/L 1985.02.16 179/77
x Yusei Kikuchi
2. Tetsuya Yamamoto P Mitsubishi Kobe R/R 1985.09.04 178/73
3. Takahiro Araki IF Kinki Univ R/R 1987.07.26 178/76
4. Ryo Hirai P Teikyo Dai 5 HS R/R 1991.04.23 183/75
5. Jun Matsui OF Nichidai Kokusai Univ R/L 1987.11.27 177/88

Ikusei:
1. Maike Magario OF Aomori Yamada HS R/R 1991.11.18 187/82
2. Tomofumi Aso IF Nichidai Kokusai Univ R/R 1987.06.28 177/83

Tigers
1. Kazuhito Futagami P Hosei Univ R/R 1987.06.03 183/80
x Kikuchi Yusei
2. Masanori Fujihara P Ritsumeikan Univ L/L 1988.01.14 181/77
3. Yuhei Kai OF Fukuoka Univ R/R 1988.03.15 185/84
4. Takumi Akiyama P Saijo HS R/L 1991.04.26 186/92
5. Shunsuke Fujikawa OF Kinki Univ R/R 1987.08.17 177/72
6. Fumihito Haraguchi C Teikyo HS R/R 1992.03.03 178/74

Ikusei:
1. Shuhei Takada P BCL Shinano Grandserows L/L 1985.06.03 178/79
2. Kenichi Tagami OF Soka Univ R/L 1987.12.12 180/76

Carp
1. Takeru Imamura P Seiho HS R/R 1991.04.17 183/83
2. Shota Dobayashi IF Chukyodai Chukyo HS R/R 1991.08.17 182/79
3. Hisashi Takeuchi P Hosei Univ R/R 1987.11.29 184/85
4. Hayato Shoji IF Tokoha Tachibana HS R/L 1991.06.21 175/70
5. Kota Itoh P Morioka Univ HS L/L 1991.07.25 186/80
6. Taketo Kawaguchi P Oji Seimei L/L 1985.08.15 173/78

Ikusei:
1. Mitsuhiro Nagakawa P Ryukoku Univ L/L 1987.11.02 189/78
2. Kosuke Nakamura C Yokohama Shokadai HS R/R 1991.04.02 180/80

Baystars
1. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo IF Yokohama HS R/S 1991.11.26 184/88
2. Shigeru Kaga P Sumitomo Metals Kashima R/R 1985.04.13 181/82
3. Taketora Anzai P Kojo HS R/R 1991.10.28 190/75
4. Takayuki Makka P Tokaidai Boyo HS L/L 1991.04.19 187/76
5. Takehiro Fukuda P SIL Kagawa Guyners R/R 1983.04.09 181/83

Ikusei:
1. Yuki Kuniyoshi P Shugakukan HS R/R 1991.09.24 194/88
2. Kota Kobayashi P Tamadai Hijirigaoka HS R/R 1991.09.01 183/71

Fighters
1. Masaru Nakamura P Kasukabe Kyoei HS R/R 1991.12.11 183/75
x Yusei Kikuchi
2. Yutaka Ohtsuka P Soka Univ R/R 1987.12.20 182/83
3. Masatoshi Katoh IF Kyushu Kokusai Univ R/L 1987.04.28 173/76
4. John Clayton Unten P Urasoe Kogyo HS R/R 1992.03.27 180/70
5. Hirotoshi Masui P Toshiba R/R 1984.06.26 181/67
6. Yuji Arahari C SIL Tokushima Socks R/R 1989.04.24 177/80

Eagles
1. Kenji Tomura P Rikkio Univ R/R 1987.10.20 185/78
x Kikuchi Yusei
2. Tetsuro Nishida IF Kansaidai Daiichi HS R/R 1991.09.04 180/75
3. Shota Koseki C Higashi Chikushi Gakuen R/R 1991.09.06 182/85
4. Kazuya Takahori P Mitsubishi Okazaki R/R 1987.06.11 183/70
5. Tomohiro Tsuchiya P City Light Okayama R/R 1985.08.18 178/70

Ikusei:
1. Koji Matsui IF SIL Nagasaki Saints R/R 1984.12.02 174/66

Hawks
1. Kenta Imamiya IF Meiho HS R/R 1991.07.15 171/71
2. Hiroyuki Kawahara P Fukuokadai Ohhori HS L/L 1991.08.23 183/75
3. Yuki Shimooki P Kosei Gakuin HS R/R 1991.09.08 180/78
4. Keiji Nakahara OF Asia Univ R/R 1987.07.10 183/80
5. Koji Toyofuku IF Tosu HS R/L 1991.05.17 180/76

Lions
1. Yusei Kikuchi P Hanamaki Higashi HS L/L 1991.06.17 184/83
2. Satoru Misawa IF Daiichi Kogyo Univ R/R 1988.03.03 181/75
3. Toshihiro Iwao P Beppu Univ R/L 1987.07.20 179/68
4. Mitsugu Ishikawa OF Toho HS R/L 1991.06.16 180/76
5. Kenta Matsushita P Waseda Univ R/R 1987.08.17 179/72
6. Yosuke Okamoto P Yamaha R/R 1985.09.27 177/75

Marines
1. Takashi Ogino OF Toyota R/R 1985.10.21 172/76
2. Tomohisa Ohtani P Toyota R/R 1985.02.14 176/83
3. Shota Ohmine IF Yaeyama Shoko HS R/R 1991.09.17 180/78
4. Ikuhiro Kiyota OF NTT Higashinihon R/R 1986.02.11 180/85

Ikusei:
1. Koshiro Yamamuro P Aoyama Gakuin Univ R/L 1987.07.14 183.82

Buffaloes
1. Shuichi Furukawa P Nihon Bunri Univ L/L 1987.07.15 175/80
2. Motoki Higa P Hitachi R/R 1982.12.07 177/77
3. Nobuyoshi Yamada P Tsuruga Kehi HS L/L 1991.09.19 184/78
4. Yuji Maeda P BCL Fukui Elephants L/L 1986.01.10 180/67
5. Toru Anan P Nippon Express L/S 1984.07.28 182/73


Note: I am not positive what the 日本大学国際関係学部 is and just have it down as "Nichidai Kokusai Univ".

Note: Sometimes it is unclear what position some of these kids have been drafted for (that is, Hiroshima's page lists Dobayashi as an infielder, so does Sportsnavi, but I saw him primarily as a pitcher/OF in Koshien... but he's here as an infielder.)

Note: Height and weight seems to vary by 1-2 from different sources like Shube, Sponichi, team websites, etc. The biggest discrepancy so far is Hisashi Takeuchi being listed as 184/83 most places, but the Carp have him as 185/95. Yikes! Having actually met the guy I admit I think he's heavier than 83 but I don't think he's 95...

Note: Tsutsugo is listed as a lefty batter most places though the Baystars site lists him as a switch-hitter. Sponichi also calls him a switch-hitter. What gives? Is this another scam out of Yokohama HS like Waizumi also calling himself a switch-hitter?

Note: Kuniyoshi Yuki is said to be one-quarter American (one of his grandfathers). Unten John Clayton has an American father and a Japanese mother. Magario Maike was born in Brazil but moved to Japan when he was very young -- I think his parents are basically Brazilian-born Japanese.

Note: Would you believe that Shube uniformly lists Kikuchi's birthday as June 19th while most other places have it as June 17th? Eek.

Note: Team names in the Shikoku-Kyushu Island League and the Hokushinetsu Baseball Challenge League have been abbreviated. Notably the Tokushima Indigo Socks, the Fukui Miracle Elephants, and the Kagawa Olive Guyners.

Note: Two little brothers were drafted by the same team as their older brother in this draft. The Marines pitcher Yuta Ohmine's little brother Shota is the obvious one, but the Carp also took Mitsuhiro Nagakawa in the ikusei draft. He's Carp closer Katsuhiro Nagakawa's little brother.




Liveblogging commentary, mostly untouched, follows...

3:55pm: And the TV broadcast is ON!

First, a big flashback to all the Kikuchi stuff, the Koshien games and his speeches to the press about whether to stay or go and so on. Lots of tears.

Then our second big featured guy is... HISAYOSHI CHONO? Ugh. Big flashback to his college and amateur career, in college and at Honda, and how he turned down the Fighters and the Marines when they drafted him. Jerk.

4:10pm: Finally, we get some actual draft picks!

Here are the picks named for the first round:

Buffaloes: Furukawa Shuuichi (LHP, Nihon Bunri Univ)
Baystars: Tsutsugo Yoshitomo (IF, Yokohama HS)
Marines: Ogino Takashi (OF, Toyota)
Hiroshima: Imamura Takeru (P, Seiho HS)
*Seibu: Kikuchi Yusei (P, Hanamaki Higashi)
*Hanshin: Kikuchi Yusei
Hawks: Imamiya Kenta (P/IF, Meiho HS)
*Swallows: Kikuchi Yusei
*Rakuten: Kikuchi Yusei
*Chunichi: Kikuchi Yusei
*Fighters: Kikuchi Yusei
Giants: Chono Hisayoshi (OF, Honda)


Wow -- crap, that means my coveted Imamiya-kun is going to the Hawks :( :( :(
I REALLY wanted the Fighters to get him.
Good on Hiroshima for taking Imamura, though.
BAD on Yokohama for going for another slugger they don't need rather than pitching they do need.
And of course... YAY for Chono going to the Giants so I can continue to HATE HIS GUTS! Wheeeee!

4:15pm: Everyone takes the lottery envelopes... Nashida fumbles taking his despite it being the ONLY ONE LEFT... and let's see WHO IS GETTING THE BOY...

CRAP! IT'S HISANOBU WATANABE FROM THE SEIBU LIONS! KIKUCHI IS GOING TO SEIBU!

CAN ANYONE SAY MATSUZAKA PART TWO? I KNEW YOU COULD.

Okay, next the first round people pick their consolation prizes:

Hanshin: Futagami Kazuhito, P, Hosei Univ (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)
Yakult: Nakazawa Masato, P, Toyota
Rakuten: Kenji Tomura, P, Rikkio Univ (aww)
Chunichi: Okada Toshiya, P, Chiben Wakayama HS (nice pick)
Fighters: Nakamura Masaru, P, Kasukabe Kyoei HS. (Ehh?)

Thoughts:
Damn -- since Futagami went to the Tigers I'll pretty much never get to see him.
Tomura, at least I can see my favorite "pile of skinny arms and legs" at Kamagaya sometimes when he comes there with Rakuten. (But Tomura-kun? A first-round pick? REALLY?)
I didn't get to see this Nakamura kid play in the Saitama taikai, though reports are calling him the "Darvish of Saitama". I guess we'll have to see.

Second round...

THE CARP TOOK SHOTA DOBAYASHI :(
So much for Chunichi taking him... not that Okada was a bad pick though.

As the rest of the picks go on, we don't actually see them on TV -- instead we're getting more of the Kikuchi show... films of him cleaning the toilets at his high school, or sitting in computer classes, or reading books... he says he can't talk to girls, no he doesn't have a girlfriend, etc. I'm sure that'll change soon enough (if it's even true to begin with).

Oh, hey, more Sasaki-kantoku on TV, that is always good! It's been a while.

The TV broadcast is off for those of us on TBS now, so I'm going to work on entering these guys (so far taking stats from Shukan Baseball magazine, btw).

The Fighters took Yutaka Ohtsuka with the second round pick, which is... interesting. He's good -- something like 41 victories over his college career! -- but I'm terrified his arm is going to fall off, as I think he also pitched a bazillion complete games.

3rd round starts...
Chunichi took Ryoji Nakata! Dang! I was really hoping for a Ryoji-Okawari bookend field in Seibu... wait, what the heck will Chunichi DO with him? It's not like they NEED another 1B, and they can't use a DH, and he can't really play anywhere else...

WOW! Lotte took Yuta Ohmine's little brother Shota! How cute!

And... and... I don't believe it. I don't BELIEVE it but Hiroshima took Hosei's Hisashi Takeuchi. Holy carp! We were all making bets about whether Takeuchi or Waizumi were going to get drafted this year... wow! (But much like Futagami I am highly unlikely to ever see Takeuchi again either.)

Nice pick by Yakult in getting Takahiro Araki, he's a solid player from what I recall.

Orix took Yamada from Tsuruga Kehi, the lefty kid whose hat flew off after every pitch. Dang...

Later round comments as I translate this stuff

That's NUTS! That random guy I saw pitch for the Kagawa Olive Guyners when I went to a random SIL game in Nagasaki... Takehiro Fukuda... got drafted! By Yokohama! Crazy!

Also, that awesome catcher from Teikyo, Haraguchi, got drafted! Unfortunately he got drafted by Hanshin :(

Can't believe Hiroshima picked up Imamura, Dobayashi, Hayato Shoji... that's a pretty big chunk of the Koshien "stars" right there.

WHAT THE HECK ARE THE FIGHTERS DOING DRAFTING ANOTHER CATCHER? ARE WE NOT ALREADY SWIMMING IN THEM?

And, hey, wait a minute... I guess this means Nobuaki Nakabayashi was NOT drafted!
Wonder where he'll end up -- maybe at one of those pockets of Keio guys like JFE Higashinihon.

I already heard that Shota Waizumi should be going to Toshiba since he wasn't drafted...




Alright, I think that's about it for me for this draft for now.

As always, what will be the most interesting part is watching this basically turn from a list of random names of guys into a group of familiar faces. I'm still amazed just to go back and look at a draft 2-3 years ago and realize how much several of those guys have already had a major impact on the game here. That's the nice thing about Japan's lack of a real developmental system, that a guy can become an impact player pretty quickly. (The bad part is that some of these other guys don't really get the proper chance to develop, though.)

Going to start working on that photo post now.

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