On March 2nd, Tomoya Satozaki and Ryota Igarashi appeared on the official Pacific League TV YouTube channel's "Mondays at Patele Supported by FamilyMart" and talked about their "favorite players" from each Pacific League team in 2026.

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"Mondays on Patere" was launched last year with the desire to create time for professional baseball and Pacific League fans to enjoy themselves even on Mondays, when there are fewer games. This special edition was titled "Pay attention to my favorite player! These are the players who will heat up Pacific League this season!" and each fan chose their favorite player from each team.

Satozaki singled out first-round draft pick rookie Taiga Kojima as a player to watch for the Saitama Seibu Lions. Unfortunately, he is sidelined due to poor physical condition and may not be ready for opening day, but Satozaki says there is a certain "rule" that allows him to succeed.

Satozaki revealed his thoughts on the theory that "all of Seibu Lions 's first-round draft catcher will perform well." In the past, the list includes players who have excelled on both offense and defense, such as Tsutomu Ito and Taisei Takagi, and currently Ginjiro Tomoya Mori. He also mentioned that "there is a Meiji line-up," noting that team president Tsuyoshi Okumura and head coach Yusuke Torigoe are both Meiji University graduates. He said he had predicted a selection since last spring.

"I'm sure Koga (Yuto Koga) will do his best, but Kojima is also a good hitter," he said, hinting at the intensifying competition for catcher position. Regarding Ginjiro Sumitani, he added, "He's a veteran, so there's catcher who will take over. In that sense, I'm looking forward to seeing how far he can go."

LIVE broadcast program "Monday is also Patere"
・Streaming date: Every Monday from 9 PM (scheduled to be available until October during the season)
・Streaming destination: Pacific League TV official YouTube channel
・Cast: A pair of former professional baseball players appear on a weekly basis
(Ryota Igarashi and Sho Nakata, Ginji and Yuji Kaneko, GG Sato and T-Okada, Motonobu Tanishige and Tomoya Satozaki)