On the October 22nd broadcast of CS Fuji TV ONE's 'Professional baseball News 2026,' the commentary team looked back on the 'Professional baseball Draft Conference supported by Lipovitan D' held that day. The program zoomed in on the Softbank Hawks' draft. Commentator Shohei Tateyama remarked, 'They secured two aces, one right-handed and one left-handed, plus the highly experienced Watanabe from Keio, and Shunta Inomata, a pitcher from Tohoku Fukushi University who throws in the high 150s. Their final pick, Genei Sato from Sendai University, was a player everyone thought was a guaranteed first-round pick before he moved to Pennsylvania last year. It is incredible to see so many players who were considered definite first-round talents gathered like this. I am really looking forward to the 15 developmental players, but the main roster group is truly exciting as well.'

Program MC Hiroki Nomura commented on his impressions of recent drafts, saying, "With things like signing players who have gone abroad, I get the impression that the draft has changed in various ways in recent years."

Similarly, Yutaka Takagi, who appeared as a commentator, said, "I think the Softbank Hawks did a great job of acquiring such good players," and expressed high expectations for the developmental players, adding, "On the contrary, the Softbank Hawks have so many players moving up from developmental to the 70-man roster that it's impressive. And they really perform well once they get there."

☆ Cooperation: Fuji TV ONE "Professional baseball News 2026"