The 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Draft was held on October 25, , for the 54th time at the

Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa (グランドプリンスホテル高輪) is a complex of three hotels (Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa, and The Prince Sakura Tower) designed by architect Togo Murano in 1982, and ...

to assign amateur baseball players to the

NPB or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. 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 , marketed in some English-speaking countries under the name Libogen and Livita, is an energy drink manufactured by Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. and its licensee Osotspa. Widely available in Asia, it retails in brown-colored translucent 100 m ...

D". 2018 marked the 6th consecutive year in which Taisho Pharmaceuticals had sponsored the event.

Summary

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 2018 NPB season in a waiver system. Waiver priority was based on inter-league results. As the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

teams came out on top against

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

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.

First round Contested Picks

* Bolded teams indicate who won the right to negotiate contract following a lottery. * In the first round,

Wataru Matsumoto is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions. References 1996 births Living people Baseball people from Hyōgo Prefecture Nippon Sport Science University alumni Japanese baseball player ...

(Pitcher) was selected by the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

without a bid lottery. * In the second round, Ryo Ohta (Infielder) was selected by the Buffaloes without a bid lottery. * In the thrird round,

Koji Chikamoto Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: * Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name * Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 * Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 * Koji orange, a Japanese cit ...

(Outfielder) was selected by the Tigers,

Yuki Takahashi is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the All Japan Road Race JSB1000 Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. For 2009 he made his debut in the MotoGP class, with the Scot Racing Honda team but was subsequently d ...

(Pitcher) by the Giants ,

Hiroshi Kaino is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Saitama Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball. Career On October 25, 2018, Kaino was drafted by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks first overall pick in the 2018 Nippon Professional Baseball ...

(Pitcher) by the Hawks, and

Noboru Shimizu is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuk ...

(Pitcher) by the Swallows without a bid lottery. * List of selected players.

Selected Players

*The order of the teams is the order of second round waiver priority. * Bolded After that, a

developmental player In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied th ...

who contracted as a registered player under control. * List of selected players.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

Hanshin Tigers

Chiba Lotte Marines

Chunichi Dragons

Orix Buffaloes

Yokohama DeNA Baystars

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

Yomiuri Giants

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

Saitama Seibu Lions

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

References

External links

プロ野球ドラフト会議 supported by リポビタンD
- NPB.jp Nippon Professional Baseball {{Nippon Professional Draft by year Nippon Professional Baseball draft

Draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...

Nippon Professional Baseball draft The Nippon Professional Baseball Draft Meeting is a conference held by the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) to select rookie players. The official name of the conference is the Rookie Selection Meeting. Since , the Grand Prince Hot ...

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