Chiba Lotte Marines missed out on the Persol CS Pacific League for the first time in two years. As the team prepares for next season under newly appointed manager Saburo, this year's draft meeting is fast approaching.

The draft conference nominates future stars. How did the players selected last fall fare in the 2025 season? This time, we've picked six Chiba Lotte Marines rookies who made their first-team debut. We'll look back on their achievements with videos.

Misho Nishikawa is in the opening starting line-up lineup

After competing with Orix, Chiba Lotte Marines acquired Misho Nishikawa Shisho (Aoyama Gakuin University) with the first pick in the draft. Nishikawa played in 14 games from the exhibition games and made a good impression with a batting average of .410. He won a starting starting line-up in the opening game as the leadoff hitter and left fielder.

In the opening game, he played away from home. He blocked the opponent's run with a good return throw in the fourth inning, and then, with the score tied at 1-1 in the sixth inning, he hit a timely hit off pitcher Kohei Arihara, giving him his first hit RBI and RBI. He immediately showed great performances on both offense and defense, and was seen smiling during his hero interview.

His winning streak began in June. He recorded his first four hit in a single game since turning pro in a match against Yokohama DeNA, and posted a high batting average of .441 (15 hit At Bat 34 at-bats) and an on-base percentage of .459. His long-awaited first professional Home Run came on July 30th against Tohoku Rakuten, when he was batting fourth for the first time. He hit breaking ball from pitcher Takayuki Kishi into the left-field home run run lagoon.

He entered his first year as a pro with high expectations. He played 108 games, batting .281, leading the rookie team with 117 hit, leading the league with 27 doble, 3 Home Run, 37 RBI, 1 stolen base, and an OPS of .699. Although he was demoted to the farm team twice in the spring, he continued to perform well enough to put his team in the running for Rookie of the Year.

Ryusei Miyazaki joined Chiba Lotte Marines Lotte Marines from Yamaha as the second pick in the draft. He was promoted for the first time on May 11th and made his professional debut that same day, defense third base in the eighth inning against Saitama Seibu. He saw more playing time over the summer, recording his first professional hit with a single to center fielder hit off pitcher Fukuya Yamazaki in a game Hokkaido Nippon-Ham on July 9th, and his first professional RBI with an RBI hit against Orix on the 19th. This season, he played in 39 games, batting .194 (19 At Bat 98 hit), with 3 RBI, 1 stolen base, and an OPS of .472.

Third-round draft pitcher Rikima Ichijo made his professional debut on July 15th against Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He took mound as the second reliever in the fifth inning and steadily racked up outs, including his first professional struck out of Akira Nakamura. However, with two outs, Walk and doble on second and third, and runs on a wild pitch. This was his only appearance in the first team, but he pitched in 12 games for the farm team, posting an ERA of 0.87.

Ryo Sakai a high school graduate rookie drafted fourth overall, made his professional debut in the final game of the season. pitcher pitched as the second reliever in the sixth inning, striking out both Hotaka Yamakawa and Ryoya Kurihara, and recording his first professional strike out against Kenta Tanigawara. closer a no-hitter, one-Walk, one-strike out, and no-runs inning, drawing applause from the home fans.

pitcher Koshiro Hiroike joined the team as the fifth pick in the draft from Tokai University's Kyushu Campus. His professional debut on June 21st against Yokohama DeNA was bittersweet. He started on the road, but gave up three consecutive Home Run and three runs in two innings, resulting in his first professional loss. However, after being re-promoted on July 19th, he began to get more playing time as reliever. On August 3rd, he recorded his first professional hold against Saitama Seibu. On September 17th, against Orix, he held the game in the eighth inning with the game closer, and his teammates took the lead immediately afterwards, earning him his first professional win. He finished the season with 1 win, 3 losses, 4 hold, 5 hold points, and ERA of 4.87 in 18 games.

Yu Tatematsu, the sixth pick in the draft, made his professional debut against Tohoku Rakuten on May 7th and has played in four first-team games this season. The team announced that he underwent arthroscopic labral arthroplasty on both hips in July.

Text by Ayako Kikuchi