[Draft] Orix Buffaloes Manager Mamoru Kishida: "That high strike out rate. I wonder if he will join the rotation." Fuji University's Futo Tsunoda selected as the first-round draft pick | Pacific League.com

[Draft] Orix Buffaloes manager Mamoru Kishida said, "That high strike out rate. I wonder if he will join the rotation," as they selected Futo Tsunoda from Fuji University as their first-round draft pick.

Sports Hochi

October 22, 2026 18:06

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

The Orix Buffaloes selected Fuji University pitcher Futo Tsunoda as their first-round draft pick. Since selecting Soya (Hakuoh University) in 2022, they have not publicly announced their first-round pick in advance, and they followed the same approach this year. Tsunoda is a high-caliber right-handed pitcher who boasts a maximum speed of 153 kilometers per hour.

Manager Mamoru Kishida expressed his expectations for the immediate contribution of the Aomori native known as the 'Doctor K of Michinoku,' stating, 'pitcher Tsunoda has a high strike out rate, and his breaking ball is quite mature, so I am looking forward to him joining our rotation as a key part of our strength.'

In Manager Kishida's second year, the team finished in fourth place, falling into the B-class for the first time in two years. A major factor was the departure of 2019 first-round pick Miyagi and 2020 first-round pick Yamashita, both of whom underwent elbow surgery in May. Additionally, 2022 first-round pick Soya recorded only 5 wins, a decrease in the number of wins compared to the previous two years.

In the past two years, the team lost the lottery for Nishikawa (Aoyama Gakuin University) and Ishigaki (Ken-dai Takasaki), both of whom were contested first-place picks. Manager Kishida, who will enter his third year next season, showed a reluctant attitude toward acting as the lottery drawer, saying, 'I've missed twice now... I wonder if they'll tell me, "Stop already. We're not leaving it to you anymore"?'

Orix Buffaloes' first-round draft picks over the past 10 years

2016 Taisuke Yamaoka (Tokyo Gas) Pitcher

2017: Daiki Tajima (JR East) Pitcher

2018: Missed - Kaito Kozono (Hotoku Gakuen) Infielder

Ryo Ota (Tenri) Infielder

2019: x Takaya Ishikawa (Toho) Infielder

Ryusei Kawano (JFE West Japan), Pitcher

Hiroya Miyagi (Konan) Pitcher

Year 20: x Teruaki Sato (Kindai University) Infielder

Shumpeita Yamashita (Fukuoka University Ohori High School) Pitcher

2021 Ren Mukunoki (Tohoku Fukushi University) Pitcher

2022 Ryuhei Sotani (Hakuoh University) Pitcher