On the 21st, the Rakuten Eagles held a scouting meeting in Tokyo to prepare for the '2026 Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D' on the 22nd. After the meeting, Rakuten Eagles GM Kazuhisa Ishii spoke to the press. He did not make a prior announcement regarding the highly anticipated first-round pick, stating, 'We have narrowed down our first-round choice to some extent. The final decision will be made tomorrow.'

Regarding the number of candidates for the first-round pick, he explained, "There are 12 candidates for the top spot. After all, we are selecting one person out of those 12." He also mentioned that the plan is to draft around six players for the overall developmental roster. "Rather than focusing heavily on a specific position, we would prefer to pick evenly and maintain a good balance. Within that, we have to consider things like depth and various other factors," he stated.

During the meeting, discussions were held assuming every possible situation. 'We ran simulations. We prepared dozens of different patterns, considering how things would flow if it were this player, how they would flow if it were that player, or what would happen if the flow became fragmented,' they explained.

With no public announcements from any of the teams so far, the situation has become an unusually 'secretive draft' compared to recent years. It appears that the narrowing down of first-round candidates and strategic maneuvering will continue until the very last moment.