Hokkaido Nippon-Ham finished the regular season in the A-class for the third consecutive year. With a fresh mindset following their elimination from the "2026 PERSOL Climax Series Pa," the "2026 Professional baseball draft meeting supported by Lipovitan D" will be held on October 22nd.

How did the players selected in last year's draft spend their 2026 season? We look back at the performances of rookies such as pitcher Jay Ohkawa and Ruan Ohtsuka.

Ruan Ohtsuka appeared in 61 games with the first team and recorded 6 Home Runs.

Otsuka, who joined the team as the 3rd draft pick from Tokai University, made a spectacular debut with a Home Run in his first regular season at-bat in the farm league. Furthermore, in his first first-team appearance on April 17th against the Saitama Seibu Lions, he was named in the starting line-up as the "No. 1 second baseman" and immediately hit a doble in his first at-bat.

On May 2nd against the Orix Buffaloes, in the bottom of the 9th inning trailing by two runs with two outs and no runner, he appeared as a pinch hitter. He recorded his first pro Home Run against the closer Machado pitcher and showed his spirit by closing the gap to one run. Additionally, in the interleague games in June, he hit Home Run in two consecutive games, finishing the month with a .282 batting average, 3 Home Run 7 RBI.

In July, he struggled with a .077 batting average and was removed from the roster on the 16th of that month, but he recovered in the farm league, recording a hit in 8 out of 11 games. After being promoted again on August 20th, he stayed with the first team until the end of the season, finishing his first year with a .181 batting average, 6 Home Run 16 RBI in 61 games.

On October 16th, in Game 3 of the "Persol CS Pa" Final Stage against Fukuoka Softbank, he appeared as a pinch hitter in the top of the 9th inning with two outs, no runner, and trailing by four runs when the team was down to its last chance. He calmly drew a Walk to get on base and created an opportunity by advancing on a wild pitch. Although the following batters were retired and it did not lead to a run, he demonstrated great plate discipline at the critical moment.

Jay Ohkawa recorded his first hold at the end of the season and also pitched in the Persol CS Pa.

pitcher Okawa joined the team as the first pick in the draft from Meiji University. On April 19, he made his first appearance in the first team as a reliever against Saitama Seibu Lions, but had a bittersweet debut with 5 runs (earned runs 2) over 0.1 innings. After that, he gained experience both as a starter and reliever in the farm league, and on July 27, he appeared in the 'Namix Fresh All-Star Game 2026.' He closer 1 hit 1 strike out runs in the first inning.

His first first-team start was on August 29, in a game Chiba Lotte Marines. However, he gave up two Home Run, pitching four runs over four innings. While the team was fighting for second place, he earned playing time again as the reliever in the September 23 game against Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, and closer the top of the tied extra inning 11th inning to runs 1 hit to mark his first hold. He continued to deliver passionate pitching and finished the regular season with four consecutive runs games.

Furthermore, in the first game of the Final Stage on October 14, he replaced starter Fukuya Yamazaki pitcher and went to mound with one out and bases loaded. However, after giving up a game-tying RBI hit by player Yudai Shoji, he allowed the game to take the lead due to a teammate's error and sacrifice fly, and was left disappointed. He experienced the harshness of the postseason.

Kane Edokpolo and Hiroki Tsuneya, who was registered to the 70-man roster, also made their first-team debuts.

Draft 2nd round rookie Kane Edokpolo made a strong appeal in May by hitting Home Runs in three consecutive games in the farm league, earning his first promotion to the first team on the 22nd of that month. However, he finished with 0 hits in 10 At Bats over 4 games, and his first professional hit was put on hold.

Nevertheless, in the "NAMICS Fresh All-Star Game 2026," he appeared as the "No. 4 right fielder" and won the MVP award with a performance of 2 hits and 4 RBI, including a spectacular 3-run Home Run to the center field screen. He continued to demonstrate his batting prowess in the farm league thereafter, recording 17 Home Runs, the highest in the Eastern Division.

Born in Hokkaido and joined as the 1st developmental draft pick, Hiroki Tsuneya continued to make an impression with both his offense and defense, earning a spot on the active roster on July 30th. After being named to the starting line-up for his professional debut the following day against the Chiba Lotte Marines, he recorded his first professional hit on August 7th against the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles. It was a joyful hit produced in his hometown. Although his appearances in the first team were limited to 5 games, he played in 53 games in the farm league, recording a batting average of .234, 3 Home Runs, and 28 RBI.

​Kaito Fujimori, who joined the team as the 5th draft pick from Meitoku Gijuku High School, recorded a .275 batting average in 43 games on the farm, including a 10-game hit streak from mid-July to mid-September. Although he did not appear in the first-team during the regular season, he made a substitute appearance as a pinch runner in Game 3 of the "Persol CS Pa" Final Stage. While he did not have an opportunity to bat, he experienced the atmosphere of a major stage from his first year.