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

Yudai Maeda (3rd year), a pitcher for Takaoka Daiichi (Toyama) who is attracting attention as one of the best left-handers of his generation, was selected in the second round by Lotte.

Before the broadcast began, the left-hander answered with a nervous expression, saying, '(Today) will be the most important day of my life.' When his name was called in the second round, his face brightened as he said, 'I am filled with happiness.' He then expressed his determination, stating, 'I am who I am today thanks to my parents, so I want to do my best to succeed in the professional world and give back to them.'

A hard-throwing left-handed high school pitcher who clocked 156 km/h, the fastest for his age group, during this summer's Toyama Tournament. He boasts a high strike out ability, as evidenced by his achieving a no hitter with an astonishing 20 strike outs in a single game during the same tournament.

In September, he was selected for the high school national team to compete in the 14th U-18 Asian Championship, contributing to their runner-up finish. Although not large at 173 centimeters tall, he received high evaluations from various professional teams as a left-hander with great potential, capable of unleashing powerful fastballs from a flexible pitching form.

His goals in the professional league are to achieve 200 career wins and to increase his pitch speed to 160 kilometers per hour. When asked which hitter he would like to face, he named the Pacific League superstar, saying, 'I want to face Yuki Yanagita.' He showed his fighting spirit, stating, 'I want to be a player who can handle both starting and relief roles, and when I am entrusted with the mound, I want to act as a closer to keep the score at zero and bring momentum to the team.'

Yuto Maeda. Born January 23, 2009, in Takaoka City, Toyama. 17 years old. Started baseball in the second grade of elementary school and played rubber-ball baseball at Nansei Junior High School. At Takaoka Daiichi, he joined the bench with number 18 in the summer of his first year and has worn the ace number since the autumn of his second year. 173 cm, 70 kg. Left-handed pitcher and left-handed batter.