Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, who experienced finishing at the bottom of the league for the first time in 8 years. October 22nd marks the "2026 Professional baseball Draft Meeting supported by Lipovitan D," which could be the first step toward a comeback next season.

What kind of results did the players nominated in last year's draft meeting achieve in this season, their first year as professionals? We look back at the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles rookies who made their first-team debuts this season, including pitcher Ryu Kutani and pitcher Tatsuki Ito.

Ryu Kutani has an ERA of 1.94 in 39 appearances.

Expected to be an immediate asset, pitcher Ryu Kutani, who joined from Oji as the 6th draft pick, appeared in 39 games, the fourth most on the team. His professional debut was the opening game against the Orix Buffaloes on March 27. In the bottom of the 9th inning with a 10-point lead, he closed the game without allowing a run, despite giving up a Walk and no hits.

After about a month of farm adjustment starting in April, he was promoted again on May 8 and went nine consecutive games without allowing a run from the following day, the 9th. During that time, in the game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on the 22nd, he came on as the second pitcher in relief of pitcher Ureña, who left after one inning. He pitched a career-long 3 innings, showing great relief with 1 hit, no Walks or Hit by Pitches, 3 strike outs, and no runs.

On June 12, he recorded his first professional hold in the game against Hiroshima. In the game against the Chiba Lotte Marines on July 23, immediately after a brilliant performance of 1 inning with no hits and 2 strike outs, his teammates took the lead, and he earned his first professional win. He remained with the first team until the end of the season, finishing with a strong record of 2 wins, 1 loss, 16 holds, and an ERA of 1.94.

Tatsuki Ito, who achieved his first win in his first professional start.

Tatsuki Ito pitcher joined the team as a second-round draft pick from Waseda University. He started the season with the farm team and recorded three consecutive wins starting from April 2. He earned his first promotion to the first team on June 2 and took the mound for his professional debut as a reliever in the game against the Hanshin Tigers on the 5th. Although he allowed 4 runs on 4 hit and 2 Walk in the bottom of the 7th, he showed his ability to adjust in the bottom of the 8th, retiring three batters in a row, including having Teruaki Sato struck out swinging.

His first start for the first team came two and a half months later on August 25 against the Orix Buffaloes, where he earned his first professional win by holding them to 1 runs on 4 hit over 5 innings. Pitching on six days' rest on September 1, he delivered another strong performance with 6 scoreless innings to record his second consecutive win. While he had some outings in late September where he gave up several runs, he showed great effort by throwing over 100 pitches in each of those games. In his second year next season, the focus will be on whether he can secure a spot in the starting rotation from the opening day.

First-round draft pick Sota Fujiwara pitched well in relief during the final stages of the game.

The first-round draft pick, pitcher Sota Fujiwara, who also secured a spot on the opening day roster, made his professional debut and first start in the game against the Orix Buffaloes on March 29, but suffered a loss after giving up 4 runs (3 earned runs) in 3 innings. After being removed from the roster on April 17, he spent a month and a half making appearances in the farm league before being promoted again on June 6, swapping places with pitcher Tatsuki Ito. In June and July, he appeared in 9 games as a reliever, recording an ERA of 3.97.

After adjusting in the farm league again, he rejoined the first team on September 21 and pitched a total of 6 innings over 4 games until the end of the season, performing well with 4 hits and 1 run allowed. Ultimately, it was a first year in which he appeared in 16 games for the first team, with 0 wins and 2 losses and an ERA of 4.60, gaining many achievements and identifying areas for improvement.

Akira Shigenaga has won the Farm Monthly MVP award twice.

Draft 3rd pick Akira Shigenaga produced hits in volume from the start, recording 3 hits in the second game of the farm league opening. He left a strong performance in March and April with a .303 batting average and 11 RBI, winning the "SMBC Trust Bank Farm Monthly MVP Award."

In May, he earned his first promotion to the first team, but failed to get a hit in 9 At Bat over 5 games. However, in the farm league, he recorded a 13-game hitting streak starting June 4th, including multi-hit games in 10 of those, and was selected for his second Farm Monthly MVP with a dominant June batting average of .446.

He earned a re-promotion on July 18th, recording his first professional hit and RBI that same day, followed by a 3-game hitting streak. After that, he had a period of readjustment in the farm league, but stayed with the first team from mid-September onwards. He finished with a .186 batting average over 27 games. Next season, he aims to demonstrate the batting prowess that recorded a .318 average in the farm league on the first team as well.

Shoya Sakaue also makes his first-team debut; Development Draft Pick 4 Kyosuke Kaneko is registered to the 70-man roster.

Draft 7th pick Shoya Sakaue succeeded in making an impression right after the season opener, including recording 3 hits in two consecutive games in the farm team, and received his first promotion to the first squad on April 16. However, he faced a harsh professional baptism with 0 hits and 4 struck out in 7 At Bat over 3 games, and was forced to adjust back in the farm team.

Gaining another opportunity to play in the first squad toward the end of the season, he marked his long-awaited first professional hit in his 13th career plate appearance during the Fukuoka Softbank game on October 1. In the final game on the 5th of the same month, he also recorded his first professional multi-hit game.

Developmental draft pick 4 Kyosuke Kaneko hit 7 Home Runs between his first regular season Home Run on April 12 and May 5, earning a spot on the active roster on the 15th of the same month. Furthermore, he recorded his first professional hit in the first team on August 13. After that, he gained more game experience in the farm league and recorded 13 Home Runs, tying for 2nd place in the Eastern League.