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

Nippon-Ham made a solo first-round pick of Yamanashi Gakuin's two-way player, pitcher Haruki Komoda (17). Since Komoda has set current Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (32) as his goal, it was a mutual match made in heaven. Manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo (54) immediately sent out a warm welcome.

Nippon-Ham manager Shinjo expressed his growing excitement about developing a new two-way player. After securing the negotiating rights for Komoda, who was expected to be a highly contested pick, with a solo nomination, he cheerfully remarked, "I've got it." When asked about the player's potential, he praised him as "a player full of nothing but dreams" and spoke with excitement, saying, "I want to see him in action as soon as possible."

Quoting the words of Chief Scout Obuchi, who leads an organization praised by Manager Shinjo as having 'extremely talented staff,' the manager offered the highest level of acclaim. 'Chief Scout Obuchi described him as having the height of Darvish and the weight of Ohtani,' Shinjo said with a laugh, but he harbors the same high expectations for him as he does for those two.

He also senses Komoda's "love" for Nippon-Ham. Manager Shinjo smiled and said, "Komoda-kun was following me (on social media). I almost hit the button (gesturing a thumb press), but I thought I should wait until he actually arrives. He liked us, didn't he? He liked The Fighters." The Boss is also eagerly looking forward to the day this mutually enamored, large-scale two-way player comes to Hokkaido. (Hideto Sunada)