Will the Chunichi draft become the “lost decade”?

The Chunichi Dragons’ draft has been going awry since 2021, when Kazuyoshi Tatsunami was appointed manager. In the 2023 edition, I criticized the team’s conversion of Takahiro Neo from shortstop to pitcher, the trade of Yota Kyoda (DeNA) and Hisaki Abe (Rakuten), who were obstacles to Neo’s establishment as a regular shortstop, and the draft to fill the holes in the infielders that had disappeared, and wrote the following.

“‘In the draft, we acquired infielders who could be used immediately, such as Kaito Muramatsu (2nd pick at Meiji University), Mikiya Tanaka (6th pick at Asia University), and Hiroki Fukunaga (7th pick at Nippon Shinyaku)’ I can hear a counterargument like that, but the word I hate the most is ‘immediately useful.’ Many teams have wasted their valuable top slots because it sounds good to the ear, but I sincerely hope that this will not happen.” (From “The 12 Teams Full of Problems in Professional Baseball 2023 Edition”)

Let’s take a look back at the fielders that have been selected in the past three drafts.

2021 1st place: Bright Kenta (Jomo University, outfielder), 2nd place: Ukai Kosuke (Komazawa University, outfielder)

2011 2nd place: Keiji Tsuda (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries East, infielder), 3rd place: Rintaro Tsujimoto (Sendai University, infielder)

Even without them, they could have put together a lineup with catcher Kota Ishibashi, first baseman Sho Nakata, second baseman Ryuku, third baseman Takaya Ishikawa, shortstop Caliste, left fielder Masatomo Kamibayashi, center fielder Yuki Okabayashi, and right fielder Nariya Hosokawa. When I think about it, I wonder what the past three years of drafts were all about.

If all goes well, there will be talk of Okabayashi acquiring domestic free agency rights in the offseason of 2016, and Ishikawa acquiring domestic free agency rights in the offseason of 2017. It would be quite naive to think that Okabayashi or Ishikawa will stay with the team in its current state (not winning, criticism of the manager from both inside and outside the team, dissatisfaction with annual salary). If the strength of the fielders declines, it will be the pitching that will make up for it. Looking at Seibu today, this logic makes sense.

However, since 2020, Chunichi has repeatedly placed emphasis on fielders in its drafts. As for the acquisition of domestic free agent rights for their main pitchers, Yuya Yanagi in the offseason of 2025, and Shinnosuke Ogasawara announced his intention to challenge the majors using the posting system, so the day is not far off.

Considering all of this, there is no time for the “draft to gather second and shortstop players,” which could be said to be the hobby of manager Tatsunami. With the “draft to gather working professionals” under GM Hiromitsu Ochiai (off-season 2013 to January 2017), it can be said that the Chunichi Dragons have been in a state of confusion for the past 10 years, with no one knowing where they are heading.

It is strange that the team’s situation in 2024 does not look so bad even with such bad conditions. The players acquired in the drafts between 2017 and 2020, who do not overlap with GM Ochiai and manager Tatsunami, are bringing a bright spot to the team.

2017…4th place: Tatsuya Shimizu (Hanasaki Tokuei High School pitcher)

2020… 1st place: Hiroto Takahashi (Chukyo University Chukyo High School, pitcher), 3rd place: Ryuku (Omi High School, infielder)

The drafting of Ochiai and Tatsunami has shrunk the team, but I hope that the front man who will take the helm from now on will do the opposite and aim to build a large-scale Orix-style team.

Although the results have not been good, the four players from the 2018 class will take on that role. I think Neo still has the potential to become a two-way player like Shohei Ohtani, and I don’t deny the possibility of Umezu, who has a total of 7 wins and 6 losses in 4 years.

I am not a follower of Senichi Hoshino, but Hoshino has been proactive in promoting the next generation of young players without fear of finishing last. Takeshi Yamazaki (then with Chunichi Dragons), who became the home run king in 1996, and Tatsunami (then with Chunichi Dragons) in 1990 are good examples, and now is the time to promote young players without fear of finishing last.