The is a system that allows players to be held for the purpose of training players separately from the 70 Registered players under control of each team created in the fall of at

Nippon Professional Baseball 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 formatio ...

(NPB).

Summary

This system was established in 2005 to create an environment in which amateur players can newly play in the situation where company-owned amateur baseball teams were being abolished one after another. A is a player who aims to improve baseball skill training and manner training in order to aim for registered players under control, that is eligible to participate in NPB's first league official game (

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 ...

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 ...

Interleague play (NPB) , officially titled Nippon Life Interleague Play for event sponsor Nippon Life, is an event consisting of 108 regular-season baseball games played between Central League (CL) and Pacific League (PL) teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB ...

). (Regulations for NPB Developmental players, Article 2) A developmental players include players drafted as rookies (e.g. Yusuke Kosai and

Michitaka Nishiyama Michitaka Nishiyama (西山道隆, born January 9, 1980, in Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2006 to 2008. Career ...

, drafted developmental player who were first signed as a registered player under control in .), foreign players signed as developmental players (e.g., Raidel Martínez, Liván Moinelo.), players drafted as registered players under control but re-signed with a team as developmental players due to their abilities (e.g., Kenta Kurose - Re-signed as a registered player under control.), players who became free agents with their former team and signed with another team (e.g.,

Masaru Nakamura (born December 11, 1991) is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Career Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters Naka ...

, Kouya Fujii - Re-signed as a registered player under control.), and players who were removed from the registration of players under control and re-signed as a developmental player due to treat injuries (e.g.,

Takuya Kuwahara is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Yomiuri Giants. Professional career Yomiuri Giants On October 26, 2017, Kuwahara was drafted fi ...

, Hiroya Shimamoto.). There is an argument that eliminating players who cannot play due to injury from the registration of players under control and re-signing them as developmental players will protect their careers. On the other hand, the use of the developmental players system instead of the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) Injured list system is criticized as contrary to the original principle of this system, which is to open the door to amateur players and develop them. The oldest player to become a developmental player is

Soichi Fujita is a retired Japanese left-handed relief pitcher who played most of his career in Nippon Professional Baseball. Fujita was part of the Japanese national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball com ...

, who signed in at the age of 39. The longest period as a developmental player was 's eight seasons (2011-) as of the season.

Regulations for Developmental Player

;Player Rules * Basically, they are not allowed to participate in official NPB games. However, up to five players per team per game are allowed to play in the Eastern League and Western League for developmental players. Other players play in practice games for the second squad. And make up the third squad, like the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

and the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka ...

, and play in games against independent league teams such as the Shikoku Island League Plus and

Baseball Challenge League The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four tea ...

, corporate amateur teams, and university teams. The Hawks’ｓ third squad play more than 100 games a year. But there is a difference in contract between a registered players under control and a developmental players, but unlike the relationship between major leaguers and minor leaguers in

, they are players on the same team. They use the same practice facility and player dormitory. * The contract is for a maximum of three years, but after the fourth year, the player can become a free agent once and sign with the same team again. After the fourth season, the contract will be for one year, and after each season, the NPB will announce the free agent status, after which the player can re-sign. This measure is intended to increase the player's chances of signing a registration of players under control contract, and during the free agent period, he can negotiate with other teams. In 2019,

Hiroki Hasegawa , nicknamed , (born March 7, 1977 in Tokyo) is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. Trained as a stage actor at the Bungaku-za after graduating from Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research unive ...

moved from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks to the Tokyo

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

. A one-year contract is also possible for a registered players under control to re-sign as a developmental player after a free agent announcement has been made. (Regulations for NPB Developmental players, Article 10) Players who have not been under contract for three seasons will be placed on the roster of pending developmental players, and other teams will not be able to negotiate with them. * The minimum salary is 2.4 million yen and 3 million yen is paid as a preparation fee when drafted. However, since there is no cap on annual salary, some teams sign players at higher salaries, and players who are re-signed as developmental players from a registered players under control often maintain the salary level of a registered players under control. The number on the back of the uniform of the developmental players will be a three-digit number (e.g. 110, or 001). ;Regulations for teams that own developmental players * The deadline for re-signing a developmental player as a registered players under control is from the end of the season to July 31st during the following season, as stated above.However, it is not permitted to change from a registered players under control to a developmental contract during the season. * A developmental players can only be owned by teams with at least 65 controlled players as of July 31, and teams with fewer than 65 controlled players cannot own them. However, if a team reports to the Executive Committee that it has re-signed a developmental player as a controlled player or acquired a new controlled player to bring the number of controlled players to 65 or more, and if this is approved, the team may retain the developmental player. (Regulations for NPB Developmental players, Article 3) There is no limit to the number of developmental players owned. Some teams, such as the Yomiuri Giants and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, have more than 30 players and use a 3-team system, while others, such as the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

, have only a few players, depending on the team's policy. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks have selected 14 new developmental players in the 2022 draft to implement a four-team system from the 2023 season. ;Developmental Players Draft Meeting * If the total number of players selected at the end of the Rookie Player Selection Conference has not reached 120, a Developmental Players Selection Meeting will be held with the participation of the teams that wish to participate. ;Developmental players trade * Article 11 of the Nippon Professional Baseball Developed Player Regulations states that a

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exch ...

of a developmental player held by July 31 is allowed, but as of the 2022 season, there are no examples of such a trade.

Outcome

The developmental player system, which began in the 2005 season, has been successful in producing major players for each team. (e.g. Yoshiki Sunada,

Yuji Nishino Yuji Nishino (西野勇士, born March 6, 1991) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Nishino was added to the Japanese baseball team's roster for the 2014 Major League B ...

) The Yomiuri Giants, who have been working on this system since early on, have signed more than 50 developmental players as their registered players under control as of the 2022 season. The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks have also signed 40 developmental players as their registered players under control, and have produced players like

Kodai Senga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) debut in for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, and played for them until . He is a three-time NPB ...

and Takuya Kai who have won league titles and awards and represented Japanese baseball on the national baseball team. The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which had been reluctant to acquire developmental players, drafted a player as a developmental player for the first time in the 2018 draft. In the 2022 draft, 51 players will be selected as developmental players, the largest number in history, and the acquisition of developmental players is a growing trend.

CurrentDevelopmental players rosters

Central League

Current

Developmental players rosters

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in ...

Pitchers * 201 Ryushin Takeuchi * 202 Frank Álvarez * 204 Tatsuro Hamada * 206 Yuta Matsukihira * 207

Hiroaki Matsuda is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons. Early life As a student of Aichi Prefectural Konan High School, as he was only 150cm tall he gave up playing baseball to play as a libero for the school' ...

* 208

Shō Ishikawa is a professional Japanese baseball player. He plays pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons. On 20 October 2017, Ishikawa was selected as the 2nd draft pick for the Chunichi Dragons at the 2017 NPB Draft and on 10 November signed a provisional c ...

* 209 Shōta Fukushima * 211 Yūta Ōmine

Pitchers * 124 Atsushi Mochizuki * 125 Ryo Itoh * 126 Johichiro Maki * 127 Riku Kawahara

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Mat ...

Pitchers * 120 Shun Namiki * 122 Rei Sakata * 125 Takaya Toda * 126 Soh Shinya * 128 Raisei Nakamura Infielders * 121 Shoichi Futamata * 127 Seita Maekawa Outfielders * 124 Motohide Kinoshita

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Y ...

Pitchers * 017 Shota Maruyama * 019 Shinnosuke Shimo Catchers * 022 Sho Matsui * 025 Taishi Uchiyama Outfielders * 024 Yukihiro Iwata Yokohama DeNA BayStars Pitchers * 102 Dai Kato * 107 Hansel Marcelino * 109 Yofrec Diaz * 110 Starlin Cordero Catchers * 104 Naoya Higashide Outfielders * 028

Atsushi Katsumata Atsushi is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Atsushi (musician), Japanese singer and vocalist of the band Exile *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Jap ...

* 103 Nagi Murakawa * 105 Takeru Ohashi

Pitchers * 002

Daniel Missaki Daniel Missaki (born April 9, 1996) is a Brazilian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in the Baseball Challenge League for the Tochigi Golden Braves. Career Seattle Mariners Missaki represented Bra ...

* 011 Naoki Kasashima * 014 Makoto Kyomoto * 015 Haruto Kawasaki * 016 Ryusei Takata * 017 Riku Naraki * 018 Motoya Kinoshita * 028 Ryu Tomida * 030 Yusuke Yamasaki * 040 Tappei Tanioka * 046 Hirotaka Yonahara * 047 Eiji Kamouchi * 051 Kenyu Abe * 056 Yusuke Itoh * 059 Toyoki Tanaka * 068

Yu Suzuki is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensio ...

* 092 Shohei Numata * 095 Hayato Horioka Catchers * 006 Hayato Sakamoto * 010 Ryoya Ohtsu * 022 Keita Kameda * 024 Kenki Maeda Infielders * 001 Ren Katoh * 007 Jose De La Cruz * 021 Hibiki Kuroda * 025 Hiroto Okamoto * 093 Hayato Hirama * 098 Estamy Urena Outfielders * 003 Yamato Suzuki * 009 Misaki Sasahara * 013 Julian Tima * 055 Koichi Hoshina * 097 Kaito Itoh

Pacific League

Current

Developmental players rosters

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugu ...

Pitchers * 120 Fuuki Tanaka * 125 Kirato Nagashimada Catchers * 122 Yuito Tanigawa * 126 Ryosuke Murayama Infielders * 123 Shota Hayamizu Outfielders * 130 Sandy Santos * 131 Jorge Peralta

Pitchers * 120

Hiroki Sato is a Japanese professional basketball executive and former player, currently serving as the general manager of the Chiba Jets Funabashi of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for Juntendo University. He was selected by the Oita H ...

* 123 Yuya Nakamichi * 124 Shuji Kuwahara * 133 Naoya Okamoto * 134 Shinno Ohshiro * 135 Alexander Armenta * 138 Tomoaki Shigeta * 139 Sanshiro Izaki * 140 Mizuki Miura * 141 Mailon Felix * 143

Shun Murakami Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group *Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name * Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (舜; ...

* 145 Leiri Hammond Tanaka * 147 Koki Katoh * 148 Takuma Yamasaki * 152 Masaki Takimoto * 154 Takuma Sato * 156 Luis Rodríguez * 172

Yuki Watanabe is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He previously played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Professional career Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles On October 26, 2017, ...

Catchers * 121 Soichiro Ishizuka * 129 Shoma Itani * 151 Sora Katoh Infielders * 122 Keio Fujino * 127 Riku Ogata * 128 Daisuke Itoh * 130 Haruki Katsuren * 136 Shota Araki * 146 Frankelly Geraldino * 149 Takuto Sakuma * 153 Yoshiki Mishiro Outfielders * 125 Shinnosuke Haya * 131 Hidetora Funakoshi * 132 Yuto Kawamura * 142 Takamasa Nakamura * 144 Maruko Shimon * 150 Keita Yamamoto * 155 Keisuke Nakata

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Figh ...

Pitchers * 113 Ryota Hasegawa * 114 Ryodai Matsumoto * 115 Shinji Saitoh * 121 Ren Fukushima * 123 Taisei Yanagawa * 148 Yuki Takayama * 161 Yuya Himeno Catchers * 122 Takanari Hayamizu Infielders * 112 Ryunosuke Higuchi * 155 Yuhei Nanba Outfielders * 124 Kazuhiro Abe

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

Pitchers * 001 Kazuma Satoh * 002 Futa Tanioka * 003 Yuito Nakata * 008 Masayuki Matsuyama * 011 Kento Kawase * 012 Takara Tsujigaki * 125 Tsubasa Sakakibara Catchers * 005 Ryoya Tsurumi * 014 Jui Tsuri Infielders * 021 Keita Sonobe * 022 Kosei Ohsato * 120 Shinya Hirosawa Outfielders * 004 Yamato Hirano

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

* 111

Hiromasa Saito Hiromasa (written: 博正, 宏昌, 弘昌, 弘将, 浩正, 大将 or 太将) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese composer and music producer *, Japanese f ...

* 112 Kaito Awatsu * 113 Sho Itoh * 114 Towa Uema * 116 Jasier Herrera * 120 Toshihiro Idei * 124 Taishi Mameda * 128 Shinya Sugai Catchers * 101 Hitoto Komazuki * 125 Takeru Furuichi Outfielders * 115 Romer Cuadrado * 123 Joseph Ken Miyamoto * 129 Keishin Kawamura

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shoppin ...

Pitchers * 001

Tomoki Sato Tomoki Sato (佐藤友祈, ''Satō Tomoki'', born 8 September 1989) is a Japanese Paralympic athlete. He won the silver medal in both the men's 400 metres T52 and men's 1500 metres T52 events at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeir ...

* 004 Shuichiro Hikiji * 007 Yoma Fukumori * 016 Yudai Mori * 017 Wang Yan-cheng * 135 Kotaro Seimiya * 152 Shun Ishida Catchers * 137 Yuto Egawa Infielders * 140 Maaki Yamazaki * 141 Kiyoharu Sawano Outfielders * 122 Go Kamamoto * 142 Ozora Yanagisawa * 144 Sho Okawara

References

External links

Nippon Professional Baseball Agreement・Unified contract documents
- Japan Professional Baseball Players Association Official site
Nippon Professional Baseball public notice 2022 - NPB.jp
{{in lang, ja
Teams index - NPB.jp
Nippon Professional Baseball Nippon Professional Baseball players Baseball in Japan 2005 establishments in Japan