2015 Nippon Professional Baseball draft

2015 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft
Jumpei Takahashi, who was nominated and a bid lottery for by three teams.
General information
SportBaseball
Date(s)October 22, 2015
LocationGrand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Tokyo
Network(s)TBS (first round), sky-A
Sponsored byTaisho Pharmaceutical
Overview
116 total selections in 18 (Includes draft for developmental players) rounds
LeagueNippon Professional Baseball
First round selectionsJumpei Takahashi
Taiga Hirasawa
Shun Takayama
← 2014
2016 →

The 2015 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 22, 2015, for the 51st time at the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa to assign amateur baseball players to the NPB. It was arranged with the special cooperation of Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. with official naming rights. The draft was officially called "The Professional Baseball Draft Meeting supported by Lipovitan D".

Summary

This was the third year in a row that Taisho Pharmaceuticals had been a partner for the NPB draft and as such one of their most prominent products "Lipovitan D" was used in the official name becoming "Professional Baseball Draft meeting supported by Lipovitan D."[1]

Only the first round picks were allowed to be contested with all picks from the second round onward being based on table placing in the 2015 NPB season in a waiver system. Waiver priority was changed from All-Star game results to inter-league results. As the Pacific League teams came out on top with 61 wins, 44 losses and 3 draws against Central League opposition, Pacific League teams were given preference. From the third round the order was reversed continuing in the same fashion until all picks were exhausted.

For the first time since 1974, the Yomiuri Giants were without a manager present at the draft. In the previous instance, that year's manager Tetsuharu Kawakami was to be replaced by Shigeo Nagashima who was absent due to his participation in the MLB Japan All-Star Series having still been an active player.[2]

88 new players were signed at the draft with a further 28 development player contracts decided on.[3]

Lottery Mistake

In the competition for the signature of Meiji University's Shun Takayama between Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Hanshin Tigers there was an error leading to some trouble at the meeting.[4]

At the lottery, both team managers Tomoaki Kanemoto and Mitsuru Manaka both pulled their tickets and it was Manaka who pulled his ticket first mistaking the draft logo for the "winning" stamp, raising his fist in a victory pose. Kanemoto, after seeing the Swallows manager's delight, felt that he had lost and went back to his seat without checking his ticket.

After checking the "winning" ticket, NPB officials realized immediately that there had been a mistake but before other officials could check the Hanshin ticket, an interview with Manaka had already started. In regards to this, NPB secretary general Atsuhi Iihara later apologized "we should have stopped the interview but we couldn't. It was a clumsy piece of work." After it was confirmed that Hanshin had indeed won the rights to negotiate, Kanemoto laughingly remarked "it was like a home run that had been taken away by video replay."[5]

In the aftermath, Takayama made comment that "it was a meeting where you didn't now what was going to happen, I certainly didn't, but I'm very appreciative to have been selected in the first round of picks."[6] The mistaken Manaka, commented "please return my celebration."[7] As a result of the systems trouble, the draft was delayed by 10 minutes.

First Round Contested Picks

Player Name Position Teams Selected by
First Round Jumpei Takahashi Pitcher Dragons, Fighters, Hawks
First Round Taiga Hirasawa Infielder Eagles, Marines
First Round Shun Takayama Outfielder Tigers, Swallows
Second Round Shinnosuke Ogasawara Pitcher Dragons, Fighters

Selected Players

Key
* Player did not sign


Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Louis Okoye Outfielder Kanto Daiichi High School
#2 Ryota Yoshimochi Infielder Osaka University of Commerce
#3 Eigoro Mogi Infielder Waseda University
#4 Kengo Horiuchi Catcher Shizuoka Senior High School
#5 Ryota Ishibashi Pitcher Honda
#6 Yuichi Adachi Catcher Panasonic
#7 Itsuki Murabayashi Infielder Otsuka Senior High School
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Takumi Deguchi Infielder Tsuda Gakuen High School
#2 Hiroki Yamada Infielder Komono High School

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Shota Imanaga Pitcher Komazawa University
#2 Kento Kumabara Pitcher Sendai University
#3 Tatsuhiro Shibata Infielder Kokugakuin University
#4 Yasutaka Tobashira Catcher NTT West Japan
#5 Kakeru Ayabe Pitcher Kasumigaura High School
#6 Koki Aoyagi Outfielder Osaka Toin High School
#7 Takuto Nogawa Pitcher Saginomiya Seisakusho
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Keisho Amiya Catcher Chiba Eiwa High School
#2 Musashi Yamamoto Infielder Kyushu International University Senior High School
#3 Joh Tamura Pitcher Kwansei Gakuin University

Orix Buffaloes

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Masataka Yoshida Outfielder Aoyama Gakuin University
#2 Taisuke Kondoh Pitcher Panasonic
#3 Koji Ohshiro Infielder Rikkyo University
#4 Daiki Aoyama Pitcher Toyota Motors
#5 Ryo Yoshida Pitcher Tokai Sagami High School
#6 Sena Sato Pitcher Sendai Ikuei High School
#7 Kohei Suzuki Infielder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagoya
#8 Ryuta Kadoya Pitcher J-Project Corp
#9 Ken Akama Pitcher Saginomiya Seisakusho
#10 Yutaro Sugimoto Outfielder JR East
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Takayuki Tsukada Pitcher Hakuoh University
#2 Kosuke Akamatsu Catcher Kagawa Olive Guyners

Chunichi Dragons

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Shinnosuke Ogasawara Pitcher Tokai Sagami High School
#2 Yu Satoh Pitcher Tohoku Fukushi University
#3 Takuya Kinoshita Catcher Toyota Motors
#4 Hiroto Fuku Pitcher JR Kyushu
#5 Toshiki Abe Infielder Honda
#6 Ryota Ishioka Infielder JR East
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Seiya Nakagawa Pitcher Aichi University
#2 Shu Yoshida Pitcher Tokushima Indigo Socks
#3 Takuya Mitsuma Pitcher Musashi Heat Bears
#4 Mikihiro Nishihama Pitcher Seijoh University
#5 Kaito Goya Pitcher Hachinohe Gakuin Kosei High School
#6 Masaru Watanabe Outfielder Tokai University

Saitama Seibu Lions

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Shinsaburo Tawata Pitcher Fuji University
#2 Seiji Kawagoe Pitcher Hokkai Gakuen University
#3 Shogo Noda Pitcher Seino Transportation
#4 Aito Ohtaki Outfielder Hanasaki Tokuharu High School
#5 Tadasuke Minamikawa Pitcher JR Shikoku
#6 Keisuke Honda Pitcher Tohoku Gakuin University
#7 Nien Ting Wu Infielder Daiichi Institute of Technology
#8 Tsubasa Kokuba Pitcher Daiichi Institute of Technology
#9 Koki Fujita Pitcher Hirosaki Technical High School
#10 Naoaki Matsumoto Pitcher Kagawa Olive Guyners

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Akitake Okada Pitcher Osaka University of Commerce
#2 Hiroki Yokoyama Pitcher NTT East Japan
#3 Mikiya Takahashi Pitcher Hanamaki East High School
#4 Ryota Funakoshi Catcher Oji Paper Company
#5 Ryoma Nishikawa Infielder Oji Paper Company
#6 Oscar Nakaoshi Pitcher Honda
#7 Riku Aoki Infielder Yamagata Chuo High School

Chiba Lotte Marines

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Taiga Hirasawa Infielder Sendai Ikuei High School
#2 Ryota Sekiya Pitcher JR East
#3 Kakeru Narita Pitcher Akita Commerce & Business High School
#4 Taiki Tojo Pitcher JR East
#5 Shu Hara Pitcher Senshu University Matsudo Senior High School
#6 Akifumi Shigaraki Pitcher Miyazaki Umeda Gakuen
#7 Keisuke Takano Pitcher JR West
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Takamasa Ohki Infielder Kagawa Olive Guyners
#2 Tomoya Kakinuma Catcher Nihon University College of International Relations

Hanshin Tigers

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Shun Takayama Outfielder Meiji University
#2 Seishiro Sakamoto Catcher Meiji University
#3 Daichi Takeyasu Pitcher Kumamoto Golden Larks
#4 Atsushi Mochizuki Pitcher Yokohama So-Gakukan High School
#5 Koyo Aoyagi Pitcher Teikyo University
#6 Yutaro Itayama Outfielder Asia University

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Kenta Uehara Pitcher Meiji University
#2 Takayuki Katoh Pitcher Shin Nittetsu Sumikin Kazusa Magic
#3 Kazutomo Iguchi Pitcher Tokyo Nogyo University Hokkaido Okhotsk
#4 Shota Hiranuma Infielder Tsuruga Kehi High School
#5 Toyoki Tanaka Pitcher Nippon Bunri University
#6 Toshitaki Yokoo Infielder Keio University
#7 Yuki Yoshida Pitcher Tokai University
#8 Yuya Himeno Outfielder Osaka Kaisei High School

Yomiuri Giants

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Toshiki Sakurai Pitcher Ritsumeikan University
#2 Shinnosuke Shigenobu Outfielder Waseda University
#3 Hirotaka Yonahara Pitcher Futenma High School
#4 Shingo Usami Catcher Josai International University
#5 Yasuhiro Yamamoto Infielder Keio University
#6 Daisuke Tatsuma Pitcher Iwakura High School
#7 Kota Nakagawa Pitcher Tokai University
#8 Takuya Matsuzaki Infielder Nippon Paper Group
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Daiki Masuda Infielder Tokushima Indigo Socks
#2 Daisei Kobayashi Catcher Musashi Heat Bears
#3 Yusuke Matsuzawa[9] Outfielder Kagawa Olive Guyners
#4 Kosei Tajima Infielder Musashi Heat Bears
#5 Hideyoshi Ohtake Pitcher Musashi Heat Bears
#6 Atsuro Hashimoto Pitcher Chinzei High School
#7 Yohei Yajima Pitcher Musashi Heat Bears
#8 Jun Hasegawa Pitcher Ishikawa Million Stars

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Jumpei Takahashi Pitcher Gifu Commercial and Business High School
#2 Reiji Kozawa Pitcher Nihon University Mishima Senior High School
#3 Kenta Tanigawara Catcher Toyohashi Chuo High School
#4 Kenta Chatani Pitcher Teikyo Daisan High School
#5 Kenta Kurose Infielder Hatsushiba Hashimoto Senior High School
#6 Hikaru Kawase Infielder Oita Commercial and Business High School
Developmental Player Draft
#1 Yuto Nozawa Pitcher Tsukuba Shuei High School
#2 Ryuya Kodama Pitcher Kanagawa University
#3 Yuichi Higoshi Catcher Tokyo Nogyo University Hokkaido Okhotsk
#4 Shin Nakamura Pitcher Luther High School
#5 Takeshi Watanabe Pitcher Iizuka High School

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

Pick Player Name Position Team
#1 Juri Hara Pitcher Toyo University
#2 Taishi Hirooka Infielder Chiben Gakuen High School
#3 Keiji Takahashi Pitcher Ryukoku University Heian High School
#4 Julius Higuma Pitcher Kochi Chuo High School
#5 Kotaro Yamasaki Outfielder Nihon University
#6 Daiki Watanabe Infielder Senshu University Matsudo High School

References

  1. ^ "ドラフト会議の特別協賛社に大正製薬(Draft Meeting's special partner Taisho Pharmaceuticals)". Nippon Professional Baseball (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. ^ "【巨人】41年ぶり監督不在ドラフト、抽選くじは堤GMが(Giants first time in 41 years without a manager at the draft. Lottery ticket to be pulled by GM)". Sports Hochi (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  3. ^ "新人選手88名の交渉権が確定 (88 new player negotiations decided)". Nippon Professional Baseball (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  4. ^ "真中監督、外れなのにガッツポーズ 金本監督は起死回生 (Swallows manager Manaka raises fist despite not winning, Tigers skipper Kanemoto resucitated)". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. ^ "金本監督「ビデオ判定でホームランの心境」くじ逆転(Tigers Manager Kanemoto: "it was like a home run had been taken away by video replay" raffle reversal)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  6. ^ "アクシデントに明大・高山も困惑(Meiji Uni's Takayama also troubled by accident)". Daily Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. ^ "「あのガッツポーズを返してください」／真中監督 (Please return my celebration - Manager Manaka)". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "2015 Professional Baseball Draft Meeting supported by Lipovitan D 選択選手一覧". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "怪我のため入団を辞退(Unable to join Giants due to injury)". Independent Baseball League Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
Preceded by
2014 		Nippon Professional Baseball draft Succeeded by
2016