[Nippon-Ham-Ham Fighters] 10 out of 110 candidates at scouting meeting are from Hokkaido. Genki Ishigaki of Kendai Takasaki and Ren Hirakawa of Sendai University are highly rated.
Sports Hochi
2025.10.14(火) 19:12
On the 14th, Nippon-Ham held a scouting meeting at a hotel in Tokyo to identify 110 potential draft picks. They named Soka infielder Masahiro Tateishi and Kendai Takasaki pitcher Genki Ishigaki as potential first-round picks. The day was used as a place to gather information, and no final standings were made.
This year, there are many players from Hokkaido, with 10 candidates, or about 10% of the total. Chief Baseball Officer (CBO) Hideki Kuriyama mentioned Ishigaki, as well as Hirakawa from Sendai University, Miyashita from Toyo University, Akiyama from Chukyo University, Kudo and Takaya from Hokkai Gakuen University, and said, “Hokkaido players are really rising to the top level. If The Fighters’ move to Hokkaido has contributed to this, I’m really happy.”
In particular, Sendai University’s Ren Hirakawa (Sapporo Kokusai Joho), a switch hitter with outfielder a quick foot and strong shoulder, is gaining recognition, and CBO Kuriyama mentioned that he hit Home Run on both left and right at bats in the Tohoku Welfare Tournament on March 13 and 14: “It is very good to see a switch hitter who can hit home run. He also mentioned that his father is Atsushi Hirakawa, manager of the prestigious Hokkai team, which also Koshien participated in this summer’s tournament, and said, “I’m sure coach Hirakawa is happy too. He wasn’t the coach of Hokkai, was he? I’m sure he must be happy to see his child grow up in such a situation.
Regarding Stanford University infielder Sasaki Rintaro, scouting director Obuch chose his words carefully, saying, “He hasn’t been mentioned at all today. We didn’t really talk about him. (Is he not on the list?) His name wasn’t mentioned at all today. (What will happen in the future?) I don’t know, there’s no information.”
Related News
・ [College baseball] Sendai University takes revenge on Tohoku Fukushi University. Professional slugger Ren Hirakawa hits his first home run in the fall of his fourth year.
・ [Hiroshima] Scout meeting checks video of high school students, top candidates include Ishigaki of Kendai Takasaki. Regarding Rintaro, “at the next meeting”
・ [Chunichi] Scouting meeting narrows down the list of nomination candidates to 90, including Kendai Takasaki’s Ishigaki and Soka University’s Tateishi. The outlook is that “players with immediate potential will be ranked higher.”
・ [Nippon-Ham] Scout meeting: CBO Hideki Kuriyama comments on Rintaro Sasaki, “Thinking within the rules”
・ [Nippon-Ham Ham Fighters] Manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo whispered his recommended players to Samurai manager Hirokazu Ibata. Manager Ibata said, “He recommended quite a few.”
AloJapan.com