In the 2024 "Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D", Tohoku Rakuten 's Rui Rui Muneyama, Saitama Seibu 's Hiroto Saito, Chiba Lotte Misho Nishikawa Shigeo Nishikawa, and Orix 's Yusuke Mugitani were all selected as first-round draft picks. Unusually for Pacific League in recent years, four "first-round draft fielder" were born (excluding Hokkaido Nippon-Ham-Leo Shibata).

In particular, the three college graduate rookies are expected to be immediate contributors, and will likely compete for positions with last season's regular players. Here, we look back at the regular competition that has unfolded between the first-round draft pick players (college graduates and working professionals) in the past.
*From the 2015 season onwards.

[2015] Chiba Lotte 's Shogo Nakamura

​Shogo Nakamura has won the Golden Glove Award three times as second baseman. In his first year, he joined the first team from the opening game of the season and played as third baseman in 57 of the 111 games. He also played second base, shortstop, and in outfield, demonstrating his versatility.

Before Nakamura joined the team, Toshiaki Imae played mainly as third baseman. Since 2010, he reached the required number of at-bats for five consecutive years. He was the face of the team, recording a batting average of .331 in 2010 and .325 in 2013. However, after Nakamura joined the team in 2015, he suffered a fractured left wrist after Hit by Pitch by a pitch in July, which led to fewer opportunities to play. During the offseason of the same year, it was announced that he would be transferring to Tohoku Rakuten as a free agent.

[2016] Masanao Yoshida Orix (currently with the Red Sox)

Masataka Yoshida played in 54 games as outfielder, even though he was also used as DH. In his first year, he hit 10 Home Run and showed signs of being a great player, posting an OPS of .854 despite not reaching the required number of at-bats.

The previous year's Orix outfielder were led by Itoi Yoshio, who reached the required number of at-bats for the seventh consecutive year, along with cleanup hitter T-Okada and Shunta, who set career highs in games played, hit and RBI.

After Yoshida joined the team, Shunta's at-bats At Bat significantly. In addition, T-Okada also had more opportunities to play as first baseman, and Yoshida's joining the team not only stimulated the competition for outfielder but also other positions. In the offseason of the same year, Itoi, who played in every game, exercised his free agent rights and transferred to Hanshin Tigers.

[2019] Tohoku Rakuten-Ryosuke Tatsumi

After competing with four other teams, Ryosuke Tatsumi joined Tohoku Rakuten from Ritsumeikan University. In his first year in 2019, he was appointed as center fielder from May onwards and played in 124 games. He also recorded 13 stolen base the most on the team.

In 2018, the Tohoku Rakuten outfielder were Kazuki Tanaka, who broke out in his second year with 18 Home Run and 21 stolen base, and Hiroaki Shimauchi, who played in every game the previous year, and played as regulars. The remaining spot was competed for by Okoye Rui and Pegero, but Takero Okajima defense in outfield for over 100 games.

In 2019, Tanaka, who had been used mostly as center fielder since the start of the season, had a significant reduction in playing time due to injury. Okajima also did not play in the first team due to injury, and the battle for the remaining outfielder spot continued even after Tatsumi joined the team.

[2020] Tohoku Rakuten Hiroto Kobukata, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks Naoki Sato

In the 2019 draft, Naoki Naoki Sato and Hiroto Kobukata were both selected as first-round picks after working in the corporate world. Sato moved from JR West to Fukuoka Softbank. Although he did not play in the first team in his first year in 2020, he recorded 20 stolen base (0 failed) in Western League and was stolen base leader.

Kofukuda joined Tohoku Rakuten from Osaka Gas and played in 112 games in his first year. He reached the required number of at-bats with 437 appearances. His batting average of .288 was the second highest on the team and sixth in the league overall. He also led the team with 17 stolen base, and the 2023 stolen base king has been making his presence known since his rookie year.

Meanwhile, Eigoro Mogi, who had established himself as short stop starting line-up in 2019, saw his playing opportunities drop significantly. He was removed from the first-team roster on September 30th due to back pain, and the season ended in November. Although he recorded a batting average of .301, for the first time since joining the team, he played in fewer than 100 games.

In addition, he reduced his number of appearances at shortstop from 122 to 45, and played third base in 38 games. Mogi then moved his main field to third base in 2021, playing a total of 120 games in 2021. After the 2024 season, when his use as a pinch hitter increased, he exercised his domestic free agent rights and transferred to Tokyo Yakult.

[2021] Saitama Seibu Kento Watanabe

　Kento Watanabe was promoted to the first team on April 4th, and made his first starting line-up start and appearance on the same day. In his third turn at bat, he hit his first professional hit, Home Run run off Wada Takeshi, marking a brilliant debut. However, he didn't hit after that, and in a total of six games, he was baptized as a professional, striking out seven struck out in 16 At Bat, and was unable to become a regular player. Meanwhile, in Eastern League, he led the league in Home Run (19) and RBI (64), winning two individual titles.

[2023] Saitama Seibu-Takuya Hiruma

　Takuya Hiruma played in the minor league from the start of the season, but was promoted to the major league in June and hit his first professional Home Run in his third game. He gradually got more playing time and showed signs of breaking out in August with a batting average of .294. However, his performance dropped in September with a batting average of .167, and he finished his first season with a batting average of .232 in 56 games.

In Saitama's Seibu 's outfielder squad for 2022, newcomer O'Grady played the most games. Aito also showed signs of a breakthrough with career-high numbers. Meanwhile, the remaining one slot is occupied by Seiji Kawagoe, including Shohei Suzuki, Junichiro Kishi The competition for the remaining slot was fierce, with Shohei Suzuki, Seiji Kawagoe, and Yuji Kaneko each playing more than 40 games.

And in 2023, with the retirement of O'Grady and the trade of Kawagoe to Chunichi, the starting line-up competition for outfielder will be more chaotic than last year. The addition of Peyton and Hiruma, Shinya Hasegawa No player played more than 80 games as a outfielder player, due in part to the rise of

[2024] Chiba Lotte' Kyuto Ueda

​Kyuto Ueda played mainly as first baseman (11 games) and third baseman (9 games). He made his professional debut on April 3rd, and got his first professional hit the following day, the 4th, making a good start. He was removed from the first-team roster in the same month, but after being promoted again in June, he continued to impress with a monthly batting average of .281. However, he injured his right thigh in a game on July 2nd and was removed from the roster again, ending the season like that.

Last year, Koki Yamaguchi was the main first baseman. However, with the addition of Soto, Yamaguchi was increasingly used in outfield from the beginning of the season. Yamaguchi himself has also been in a slump, and his opportunities to play have decreased significantly.

In addition to Soto, there are many players who play first base as a sub-position, such as Naonori Yasuda and Toshiya Sato. At third base, in addition to Yasuda, Nakamura and Yudai Fujioka, who are competing for second base, may also take up defense. Both first baseman and third baseman positions can be seen as fluid, but there are many rivals, so it looks like the competition will continue to be tough for Ueda.

In recent years, there has been a trend of "high batting, low pitching." What are the prospects for the future?

Looking at the past 10 years, the competition for positions has intensified after the addition of a first-round draft fielder can contribute immediately. It is not uncommon for players in the same position to leave the team during the offseason by exercising their free agent rights or by being traded, which can have an impact on other positions, and there is no doubt that this has played a role in increasing the competitiveness within the team.

However, in recent years, pitcher ability of the professional baseball world as a whole has improved noticeably, and even players who joined as the first draft pick have seemed to struggle, especially since 2020. It will be interesting to see how players who are expected to be immediate contributors, such as Muneta, who joined Tohoku Rakuten after competing with five teams, Nishikawa, and Mugiya, perform.

Text by Aoi Yokoyama