Draft 2018 Liveblogging

Hello and welcome to my 13th annual anguish over hoping the Giants don't draft my favorite college players, also known as Marinerds NPB Draft Liveblogging!

[liveblog stuff moved to underneath draft chart stuff -- Draft chart is 99.9% finished as of 6pm California time on the 25th. I just don't have birthdays for Hawks ikusei players because their website is useless.]

Name                   Pos  HS/Univ/Company         T/B   DOB          Ht/Wt  
--------------------   ---  ---------------         ---   ----------   -------
Eagles
x Kyota Fujiwara
1 Ryosuke Tatsumi       OF  Ritsumeikan Univ        R/L   12/27/1996   180/72
2 Hikaru Ohta           C   Osaka Shogyo Univ       R/R   10/14/1996   177/75
3 Shuichiro Hikiji      P   Kurashiki Shogyo HS     R/R   06/03/2000   188/84
4 Hayato Yuge           P   Subaru                  L/L   04/06/1994   193/105
5 Tomoki Satoh          P   Yamagata Chuo HS        L/L   06/05/2000   184/82
6 Yoshiaki Watanabe     IF  Meiji Univ              R/L   01/08/1997   180/79
7 Yuya Ogoh             OF  Rissho Univ             R/L   08/03/1996   178/85
8 Sora Suzuki           P   Fuji Univ               L/L   08/19/1996   184/77

i1 Kotaro Seimiya       P   Yachiyo Shoin HS        R/L   05/26/2000   190/85
i2 Yoshiki Norimoto     P   Yamagishi Logisters     R/L   05/14/1994   174/76

(lol at this kid whose name LOOKS like "Kotaro Kiyomiya" but is actually Seimiya)

Tigers
x Kyota Fujiwara
x Ryosuke Tatsumi
1 Koji Chikamoto        OF  Osaka Gas               L/L   11/09/1994   170/72
2 Ryuhei Obata          IF  Nobeoka Gakuen HS       R/L   09/21/2000   181/73
3 Seiya Kinami          IF  Honda                   R/L   06/15/1994   178/80
4 Yukiya Saitoh         P   Honda                   R/L   01/05/1995   184/90
5 Riku Kawahara         P   Souseikan HS            L/L   12/12/2000   184/80
6 Atsuki Yuasa          P   BCL Toyama Thunderbirds R/R   07/17/1999   183/88

i1 Yuya Katayama        C   Fukui Miracle Elephants R/L   06/18/1994   177/83

Marines
1 Kyota Fujiwara        OF  Osaka Toin HS           L/L   05/06/2000   181/78
2 Yusuke Azuma          P   Nittai Univ             R/R   04/04/1996   172/80
3 Kazuya Ojima          P   Waseda Univ             L/L   07/07/1996   177/81
4 Koki Yamaguchi        OF  Meioh HS                R/R   08/18/2000   182/85
5 Toshiya Nakamura      P   Asia Univ               L/L   07/08/1996   177/86
6 Takuro Furuya         P   Narashino HS            R/R   04/21/2000   182/76
7 Shin Matsuda          IF  Honda                   R/R   08/29/1994   188/95
8 Hideto Doi            P   Matsuyama Seiryo HS     R/R   04/02/2000   191/84

i1 Mizuki Kamata        P   Tokushima Indigo Socks  R/R   09/06/1995   180/91

Dragons
1 Akira Neo             P   Osaka Toin HS           R/L   04/19/2000   177/80
2 Kodai Umetsu          P   Toyo Univ               R/R   10/24/1996   187/90
3 Akiyoshi Katsuno      P   Mitsubishi Juko Nagoya  R/R   06/12/1997   183/89
4 Kota Ishibashi        C   Kanto Daiichi HS        R/R   12/07/2000   180/87
5 Kenshin Kakikoshi     P   Yamanashi Gakuin HS     L/L   04/03/2000   184/96
6 Kaname Takino         OF  Osaka Shogyo Univ       R/L   07/08/1996   185/76 

Buffaloes
Kaito Kozono
1 Ryo Ohta              IF  Tenri HS                R/R   02/14/2001   181/76
2 Yuma Tongu            C   Asia Univ               R/R   11/17/1996   181/97
3 Yudai Aranishi        P   Honda Kumamoto          R/R   08/25/1992   178/83
4 Ryoga Tomiyama        P   Toyota                  L/L   05/03/1997   178/82
5 Sho Gibo              P   KBC Mirai Okinawa HS    R/L   11/26/2000   174/67
6 Yu Hidarisawa         P   JX-ENEOS                L/L   12/28/1994   171/76
7 Keita Nakagawa        IF  Toyo Univ               R/R   04/12/1996   180/75

i1 Taisei Urushihara    P   Niigata Iryo Fukushi U  R/L   09/10/1996   182/83

(Tongu was a catcher at Asia-dai but the Buffaloes are listing him as IF for some reason)
(Aranishi is listed with an 8/25 birthday everywhere EXCEPT the Buffaloes site)

Baystars
Kaito Kozono
1 Taiga Kamichatani     P   Toyo Univ               R/R   08/31/1996   181/83
2 Yukiya Itoh           IF  Rissho Univ             R/R   08/30/1996   182/95
3 Shinichi Ohnuki       P   Sumitomo Metal Kashima  R/R   02/03/1994   181/75
4 Atsushi Katsumata     P   Nichidai Tsurugaoka HS  R/L   05/22/2000   180/80
5 Kyosuke Mashiko       C   Seirantaito HS          R/R   12/27/2000   176/90
6 Naoto Chino           IF  BCL Niigata Albirex     R/R   02/16/1999   181/81

i1 Daita Miyagi         P   Shiga Gakuen HS         R/R   07/15/2000   181/73

Fighters
x Akira Neo
1 Kosei Yoshida         P   Kannano HS              R/R   01/12/2001   175/84
2 Yuki Nomura           IF  Hanasaki Tokuharu HS    R/R   06/26/2000   185/90
3 Tsubasa Nabatame      P   Nippon Tsuun            R/R   02/19/1995   176/86
4 Chusei Mannami        OF  Yokohama HS             R/R   04/07/2000   190/90
5 Ren Kakigi            P   Osaka Toin HS           R/R   06/25/2000   181/88
6 Yua Tamiya            C   Narita HS               R/L   06/13/2000   174/77
7 Suguru Fukuda         P   Seisa Dohto Univ        L/L   12/14/1996   170/75

i1 Kazuyoshi Ebihara    OF  BCL Toyama Thunderbirds R/L   09/13/1995   188/92

Giants
x Akira Neo
x Ryosuke Tatsumi
1 Yuki Takahashi        P   Hachinohe Gakuin Univ   L/L   02/01/1997   178/82        
2 Riku Masuda           IF  Meishu Hitachi HS       R/R   06/17/2000   178/80
3 Daisuke Naoe          P   Matsusho Gakuen HS      R/R   06/20/2000   184/77
4 Kai Yokogawa          P   Osaka Toin HS           L/L   08/30/2000   190/90
5 Yoshiya Matsui        IF  Orio Aishin HS          R/L   06/18/2000   191/90
6 Shosei Togoh          P   Seishin Ursula HS       R/R   04/04/2000   184/70

i1 Kota Yamashita       OF  Kendai Takasaki HS      R/L   11/15/2000   176/80
i2 Kaisei Hirai         P   Gifu Daiichi HS         R/R   09/12/2000   184/73
i3 Shohei Numata        P   Asahikawadai HS         R/R   06/24/2000   175/64
i4 Hibiki Kuroda        IF  Tsuruga Kehi HS         R/R   07/21/2000   184/75

Hawks
x Kaito Kozono
x Ryosuke Tatsumi
1 Hiroshi Kaino         P   Toyo Univ               R/R   11/16/1996   185/83
2 Kazuki Sugiyama       P   Mitsubishi Hiroshima    R/R   12/07/1997   192/86
3 Daiju Nomura          IF  Waseda Jitsugyo HS      R/R   09/10/2000   172/82
4 Yugo Bandoh           P   JR East                 R/R   12/27/1995   181/76
5 Shun Mizutani         OF  Iwami Chisuikan HS      R/R   03/09/2001   192/94
6 Keisuke Izumi         P   Kanazawa Seiryo Univ    R/R   03/02/1997   187/82
7 Masato Okumura        P   Mitsubishi Pwr Systems  R/R   08/14/1992   177/80

i1 Riku Watanabe        C   Kamimura Gakuen HS      R/L                185/80
i2 Naoya Okamoto        P   Nodai Okhotsk Univ      L/L                180/72
i3 Tomoaki Shigeta      P   Kokushikan Univ         R/R                185/77
i4 Takamasa Nakamura    OF  Nishinihon Tankidai HS  R/R                183/87

Swallows
x Akira Neo
x Taiga Kamichatani
1 Noboru Shimizu        P   Kokugakuin Univ         R/L   10/15/1996   180/84
2 Shota Nakayama        IF  Hosei Univ              R/R   09/22/1996   185/95
3 Yuta Ichikawa         P   Meitoku Gijuku          R/R   03/29/2001   185/75
4 Taiki Hamada          OF  Meiho HS                R/R   09/04/2000   178/80
5 Koshiro Sakamoto      P   Sumikin Hirohata        L/L   09/09/1994   180/70
6 Yuta Suzuki           P   Nihon Bunri HS          R/R   08/02/2000   182/87
7 Takuma Kubo           P   Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ    L/L   07/27/1996   175/75
8 Taisei Yoshida        IF  Meiji Yasuda Seimei     R/L   03/07/1995   174/78

i1 Taishi Uchiyama      C   Tochigi Golden Braves   R/R   04/21/1996   172/77
i2 Yu Matsumoto         IF  Fukui Miracle Elephants R/L   02/05/1995   180/82

Lions
1 Wataru Matsumoto      P   Nittai Univ             R/R   11/28/1996   176/83
2 Yutaro Watanabe       P   Urawa Gakuin HS         R/R   09/21/2000   190/90
3 Kakeru Yamanobe       IF  Mitsubishi Okazaki      R/R   05/24/1994   170/72
4 Kaito Awatsu          P   East Japan Int'l Univ   R/R   03/01/1997   180/80
5 Shoya Makino          C   Yugakkan HS             R/L   03/04/2001   178/77
6 Ryosuke Moriwaki      P   Sega Sammy              R/R   07/13/1992   175/70
7 Ryusei Satoh          IF  Fuji Univ               R/R   01/15/1997   173/81

i1 Aoi Tohno            P   Nihon Keizai Univ       L/L   11/30/1996   183/75
i2 Jiyu Ohkubo          P   Hokkai HS               R/R   08/02/2000   198/88
i3 Daichi Nakaguma      C   Tokuyama Univ           R/L   08/27/1996   176/84

Carp
1 Kaito Kozono          IF  Hotoku Gakuen HS        R/L   06/07/2000   178/79
2 Sotaro Shimauchi      P   Kyushu Kyoritsu Univ    R/R   10/14/1996   180/76
3 Kota Hayashi          IF  Chiben Wakayama HS      R/L   11/16/2000   181/87
4 Takuto Nakagami       IF  Gifu Shogyo HS          R/R   05/29/2000   175/85
5 Norihiko Tanaka       P   Komono HS               R/R   10/19/2000   173/80
6 Yuya Shozui           OF  Asia Univ               R/R   08/31/1996   181/90
7 Ryutaro Hatsuki       IF  Kamimura Gakuen HS      R/L   04/19/2000   167/70

i1 Minoru Ohmori        OF  Shizuoka Sangyo Univ    R/L   08/31/1996   179/70

This year's draft is on Thursday the 25th in Japan at 5pm; which means Thursday morning at 1am here in California.

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.  This year I don't actually have all that many favorites in the draft, believe it or not -- I mean, there's the usual assortment of college guys I've been watching for a while (I expect Yoshiaki Watanabe from Meiji and Shota Nakayama from Hosei and Kazuya Ojima from Waseda to get drafted anyway, as well as the Toyodai Trio (Umetsu, Kamichatani, and Kaino, all pitchers) and I know a lot of my friends are huge fans of Wataru Matsumoto from Nittaidai.  But unlike most years, I don't think I have anyone in this draft who I know all that well personally (infact the only one I've met is Nakayama).  This is probably partially because I've dedicated more of my time to the Fighters when I'm over in Japan, and partially because it rained a LOT this year when I was visiting, and partially because I shifted over to cheering for Todai more in the last few years :)

Also I apologize that this is literally the first post I've made in a year; if you've followed me for a while you know that I do still tweet a lot when I'm in Japan.  I started writing a post about Fighters spring training this year but it was very frustrating and I ended up never posting it.  Sorry!

HEY! Guess what, the Sports Bull stream actually seems to be working in the US! And I've even got it on my Pixel so I can use my laptop for typing in names/info!

Otherwise I'll still be watching the picks come in on various news sources such as Nikkan Sports as usual.

1am: And it's starting!  Wheee!  (I am such a Todai fangirl that I was almost more excited to see Endoh-san walking in behind Kida-san and the main posse.)

1:15am: I take it back.  Sportsbull works but it keeps randomly coming with ads in the middle of everything.  Well, we're getting underway with the first round...

Rakuten: Kyota Fujiwara, OF, Osaka Toin HS
Hanshin: Fujiwara
Marines: Fujiwara
Dragons: Akira Neo, IF, Osaka Toin HS
Orix: Kaito Kozono, IF, Hotoku Gakuen HS
Baystars: Kozono
Fighters: Neo
Giants: Neo
Hawks: Kozono
Swallows: Neo
Lions: Wataru Matsumoto, RHP, Nittai Univ
Carp: Kozono

WOW that is even more of a cluster than most years.  4, 4, 3, and the Seibu Lions just get Wataru Matsumoto uncontested (DAAAAAAAAAANG).

1:20am: First runoff is for Fujiwara, and he goes to the Chiba Lotte Marines!  Whee.

1:23am: Next runoff is for Neo, and he goes to Chunichi.  I don't actually know how I feel right now -- I almost expected Kida to pick him at this point, believe it or not...

1:27am: Next runoff for Kozono, and he goes to Hiroshima.  Well, okay then.

Now people get to choose their second first round, and I start entering stuff into my chart.

Rakuten: Ryosuke Tatsumi, OF, Ritsumeikan Univ
Hanshin: Tatsumi
Orix: Ryo Ohta, IF, Tenri HS
Baystars: Taiga Kamichatani, RHP, Toyo Univ
Fighters: Kosei Yoshida, RHP Kannano HS
Giants: Tatsumi
Hawks: Tatsumi
Swallows: Kamichatani

1:35am: And now lottery for Tatsumi... and he goes to Rakuten!

1:38am: Lottery for Kamichatani, and... he goes to Yokohama.  Huh...

And now we are on to the THIRD FIRST ROUND!!

Hanshin: Koji Chikamoto, OF, Osaka Gas
Giants: Yuki Takahashi, LHP, Hachinohe Univ
Hawks: Hiroshi Kaino, RHP Toyo Univ
Yakult: Noboru Shimizu, RHP Kokugakuin Univ

And that's that.  Going to take a little break to tabulate this all at 1:44am now.

Oh, wait.  So.  ACTUAL FIRST ROUND IN FULL:
Rakuten: Ryosuke Tatsumi, OF, Ritsumeikan Univ
Hanshin: Koji Chikamoto, OF, Osaka Gas
Marines: Kyota Fujiwara, OF, Osaka Toin HS
Dragons: Akira Neo, IF, Osaka Toin HS
Orix: Ryo Ohta, IF, Tenri HS
Baystars: Taiga Kamichatani, RHP, Toyo Univ
Fighters: Kosei Yoshida, RHP Kannano HS
Giants: Yuki Takahashi, LHP, Hachinohe Gakuin Univ
Hawks: Hiroshi Kaino, RHP Toyo Univ
Yakult: Noboru Shimizu, RHP Kokugakuin Univ
Lions: Wataru Matsumoto, RHP, Nittai Univ
Carp: Kaito Kozono, IF, Hotoku Gakuen HS

I'm probly going heads-down into the grid from now on...

btw just a note: the FIGHTERS ARE ACTUALLY PARTICIPATING IN THE IKUSEI DRAFT THIS IS A HISTORIC FIRST WE HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE.

Another funny thing: at the end of the 8th round they were like "Okay, all the teams are finished choosing... wait, our bad, sorry, Rakuten isn't finished.  Rakuten?" and Rakuten was like "We're finished choosing."

I don't have a ton of commentary other than to say at least the 6 players I named as "will get picked" all got picked.  I guess that's not too difficult though.  Surprised that Watanabe went as late as he did, to be honest.

Actually that's a lie. As I've been entering these I noticed that there are a LOT more position players than pitchers, or at least, way more than I would expect normally in the draft. Also it felt like for a while there was a lack of lefties, and that we have a surprising number of kids at the far ends of the age spectrum, ie, a lot of March and April birthdays.

It's 4:44am right now and I've just finished the main chart (aside from a few birthdays I couldn't dig up).  I'm going to briefly peer at Ikusei and see how many there are and I might put that off until the morning, so if this post doesn't have ikusei yet, that's why.