2026 Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D (22nd)

Lotte selected Kansai University pitcher Yuto Yonezawa as their first-round pick.

In the first round of bidding, they nominated Yasushi Suzuki from Aoyama Gakuin University, but faced competition from the Softbank Hawks, leading Manager Saburo to participate in the lottery. The manager drew first with his left hand but was unable to pull the winning ticket. In the subsequent re-selection for the first-round pick, they nominated Miyahara from Kindai University and entered another lottery with Chunichi; although Manager Saburo did not draw the ticket this time, they lost the lottery again, ultimately nominating Yonezawa from Kansai University as their first-round pick.

Director Saburo gave a wry smile and said, "(Since they missed) neither of them had it."

In 2024, they had successfully drawn Misho Nishikawa and in 2025, Genki Ishigaki after competitive bidding, but their winning streak in the lottery ended at two.

Although he was selected after two missed lottery picks, Yonezawa is a ready-to-use left-handed pitcher with high game-making ability. He matches the team's situation of lacking left-handers, and expectations are high. Manager Saburo also nodded, saying, 'There was nothing we could do about the two lottery losses. However, we were able to get a pitcher we had evaluated as a first-round pick. Since we got him even after missing those picks, I think it turned out well in the end.'

Last year, Manager Saburo drew the winning ticket for Genki Ishigaki after a competitive bid with the Orix Buffaloes. Wearing a blue suit in the colors of Ken-dai Takasaki, he also demonstrated 'intellectual play' by utilizing AI, stating that he 'asked ChatGPT' which part of the lottery ticket, top or bottom, he should pull.

Ishigaki, whom he personally selected, made his first-team debut as a starter in the game against the Rakuten Eagles on September 17th (ZOZO). For a pitcher staff that finished in 5th place due to struggles among the starters, this marked a step forward for next season. The relievers fought hard, with Shota Suzuki winning the best reliever award with 39 hold points, Akira Yagi earning 9 wins, and Rikuto Yokoyama leading the league with 35 saves.

Regarding the batting lineup, Misho Nishikawa, the 2024 first-round draft pick and last season's Rookie of the Year, recorded 155 hits to tie with Ryoma Nishikawa (Orix Buffaloes) for the most hits title. Among the hitters, eighth-year player Koki Yamaguchi had a breakout season with 38 Home Runs and 81 RBI. He became the first Japanese player for the club since Hiromitsu Ochiai in 40 years to surpass the 30-home run milestone, and expectations are high for him to serve as a core player next season as well.

Lotte's first-round draft picks over the past 10 years

2016: Missed - Seigi Tanaka (Soka University) Pitcher

Chihaya Sasaki (Obirin University) Pitcher

2017 x Kotaro Kiyomiya (Waseda Jitsugyo) Infielder

Hisanori Yasuda (Riseisha) Infielder

2018 Kyota Fujiwara (Osaka Toin) Outfielder

2019 Roki Sasaki (Ofunato) Pitcher

2020 - Takahisa Hayakawa (Waseda University) Pitcher

Shota Suzuki (Hosei University)

2021, Koo Matsukawa (City Wakayama), Catcher

2022 x Kosei Shoji (Rikkyo University) Pitcher

Riku Kikuchi (Senshu University) Pitcher

2023: Ryuki Watarai (ENEOS), Outfielder

Loss: Masaru Soka (Asia University) Pitcher

Haruki Hosono (Toyo University) Pitcher

Kyuto Ueda (Meiji University) Infielder

2024 - Misho Nishikawa (Aoyama Gakuin University) Outfielder

25 Genki Ishigaki (Ken-dai Takasaki) Pitcher