Shohei Tateyama, who appeared on "Professional baseball News 2026" broadcast on Fuji TV ONE on the 19th, mentioned Nippon-Ham-Leo Shibata.

Tateyama expressed high hopes for Shibata, saying, "I think the significance of having him start at such an important time in last year's series against Softbank Hawks will carry over to this year. I think it will be difficult to play both roles, but he has an unparalleled scale of talent, and even though we have added Yuya pitcher as pitcher, he is pitcher we would like to develop into a great starter, so I am looking forward to seeing what pitcher can do this year as well."

Shibata joined Nippon-Ham as their first overall pick in the 2024 draft. In his rookie season last year, he pitched 12 1/3 innings in 4 games, recording one hold and ERA of 2.92. He did not make any appearances as a batter in the first team. This season, it will be interesting to see if he can make an impact on the first team stage as a two-way player, both as hitter and a batter.

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"