Takuya infielder from Hokkai Gakuen University who was selected by Nippon-Ham as the first pick in the development draft, received a greeting from acting GM Masao Kida (57) and scout Yasukatsu Shirai (56) at the university in Sapporo, Hokkaido on the 4th, and signed a provisional contract.

Since the draft, he has received nearly 100 direct messages on Instagram from Nippon-Ham fans and others, and the reality of his selection is starting to sink in with each passing day. On this day, after greeting the draft pick and signing a provisional contract, he enthusiastically stated, "In order to play for The Fighters for as long as possible, I want to be registered as a regular player as soon as possible and contribute to winning the league championship and becoming the best in Japan."

Nippon-Ham triple He has been hitting .500 in three games at the All-Japan University Championships in June, and has proven himself on the big stage as well.

He also has a strong arm that boasts a fastest pitch speed of 144 km/h, and the team has attended many games to check out this local talent. Scout Shirai, who is in charge of pitcher, said, "We've been following him for a long time. Many university students tend to drop off dramatically in their fourth year, but in Tsuneya's case, we saw that he has put in a solid performance from spring to summer and fall, which made us think, 'Wow!' He's in the development stage, but he has plenty of chances."

He was born in Sapporo, but moved to Ebetsu as a child. It has been announced that the Fighters' second-division home base will be relocated to the Sapporo area in Hokkaido around 2030, with Ebetsu being named as a possible location. After being drafted, he paid a courtesy visit to the city's mayor, Yoshito Goto (65), on October 30th, and said, "The mayor also told me, 'Do your best and come to Ebetsu.' It would be best if that could happen. People around me told me they are happy that I can continue playing baseball at a high level, so I want to do my best." His registration as a controlled player and his success on the first team will further fuel local The Fighters enthusiasm and "support" the relocation of the Fighters' second-division home base to Ebetsu.

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