TL;DR
- The NPB active player draft, started in 2022, allows player transfers to revitalize the league's market.
- Teams select players from a pool, with selection order determined by mutual interest and tie-breaking rules.
- Players are eligible unless they are foreign, on multi-year deals, earn over 50 million yen, or have FA status.
- Notable players like Seiya Hosokawa and Kōtarō Ōtake have achieved success after being drafted.
The NPB's active player draft, which commenced in 2022, is gaining increasing attention year by year, with players like Chunichi Dragons' Seiya Hosokawa and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters' Shun Mizutani experiencing breakthroughs after their transfers. This article will summarize the active player draft, including its system, rules, and past transferred players.
現役ドラフトとは？
The current draft is a player transfer system introduced in 2022. It's modeled after Major League Baseball's (MLB) "Rule 5 Draft" and aims to provide opportunities by changing the environment for players with limited playing time.
MLBと違って選手の移籍が活発でないプロ野球において、移籍市場を活性化させる狙いもある。
現役ドラフトの仕組みと流れ
In the current draft, all 12 teams will select at least two players from the available pool and submit a list to the NPB. Each team will notify their desired players from the target player lists of other clubs. The team with the highest total number of desired players will obtain the first selection right. If there's a tie, the selection order will be determined by the second pick in the draft conference of the same year.
The first team selects as notified, and the team selected by the first team makes the second selection. This process continues until the twelfth team makes its selection. The team selecting eleventh will always pick from the twelfth team. Consequently, every team will select one player and have one player selected.
2巡目の指名は参加希望球団のみで行われる。指名順は1巡目の指名の逆順で行われる。指名は全て非公開で行われ、指名順などは公表されず、結果だけが一般に発表される。
現役ドラフトの対象選手
現役ドラフトの対象選手は、各球団がNPBに提出した次年度の契約保留選手名簿の中から、以下の項目を除いた選手。
- 外国人選手
- 複数年契約選手
- 来季年俸5000万円以上の選手（1人は5000万円以上1億円未満も可）
- FA権を行使したことのある選手
- FA有資格選手
- 育成選手
- 前年シーズン終了後にトレードで獲得した選手
- シーズン終了後に育成から支配下になった選手
上記項目を除いた中から、各球団が2人以上を選び、NPBに提出する。
過去の移籍選手一覧
2025年
第1巡目
| 選手 | 元所属→移籍先 |
| 松浦慶斗 | 日本ハム→巨人 |
| 大道温貴 | 広島→ヤクルト |
| 濱将乃介 | 中日→DeNA |
| 知野直人 | DeNA→中日 |
| 濱田太貴 | ヤクルト→阪神 |
| 辰見鴻之介 | 楽天→広島 |
| 菊地大樹 | 巨人→日本ハム |
| 佐藤直樹 | ソフトバンク→楽天 |
| 茶野篤政 | オリックス→西武 |
| 井上広大 | 阪神→ロッテ |
| 平沼翔太 | 西武→オリックス |
| 中村稔弥 | ロッテ→ソフトバンク |
2024年
第1巡目
| 選手 | 元所属→移籍先 |
| 田中瑛斗 | 日本ハム→巨人 |
| 矢崎拓也 | 広島→ヤクルト |
| 浜地真澄 | 阪神→DeNA |
| 伊藤茉央 | 楽天→中日 |
| 畠世周 | 巨人→阪神 |
| 山足達也 | オリックス→広島 |
| 吉田賢吾 | ソフトバンク→日本ハム |
| 柴田大地 | ヤクルト→楽天 |
| 平沢大河 | ロッテ→西武 |
| 石垣雅海 | 中日→ロッテ |
| 本田圭佑 | 西武→オリックス |
| 上茶谷大河 | DeNA→ソフトバンク |
第2巡目
| 選手 | 元所属→移籍先 |
| 鈴木健矢 | 日本ハム→広島 |
2023年
| 選手 | 元所属→移籍先 |
| 漆原大晟 | オリックス→阪神 |
| 内間拓馬 | 楽天→広島 |
| 佐々木千隼 | ロッテ→DeNA |
| 馬場皐輔 | 阪神→巨人 |
| 北村拓己 | 巨人→ヤクルト |
| 梅野雄吾 | ヤクルト→中日 |
| 鈴木博志 | 中日→オリックス |
| 愛斗 | 西武→ロッテ |
| 長谷川威展 | 日本ハム→ソフトバンク |
| 櫻井周斗 | DeNA→楽天 |
| 中村祐太 | 広島→西武 |
| 水谷瞬 | ソフトバンク→日本ハム |
2022年
| 選手 | 元所属→移籍先 |
| 渡邉大樹 | ヤクルト→オリックス |
| 古川侑利 | 日本ハム→ソフトバンク |
| 陽川尚将 | 阪神→西武 |
| 正隨優弥 | 広島→楽天 |
| 大下誠一郎 | オリックス→ロッテ |
| 松岡洸希 | 西武→日本ハム |
| 成田翔 | ロッテ→ヤクルト |
| 笠原祥太郎 | 中日→DeNA |
| 大竹耕太郎 | ソフトバンク→阪神 |
| オコエ瑠偉 | 楽天→巨人 |
| 戸根千明 | 巨人→広島 |
| 細川成也 | DeNA→中日 |
現役ドラフトをきっかけにブレイクした選手
Among active players drafted, Seiya Hosokawa, who moved from DeNA to Chunichi in 2022, has achieved the greatest success. Hosokawa made a striking debut in his rookie year of 2017 and was consistently expected to be a power hitter, but he struggled to secure a regular starting position.
However, he secured a regular position in his first year after transferring, appearing in 140 games and achieving a solid performance with a batting average of.253 (131 hits in 518 at-bats), 24 home runs, and 78 RBIs. He also excelled as a key hitter in his second year, drawing attention as a "star from the current player draft."
In 2022, Kōtarō Ōtake also moved from SoftBank to the Hanshin Tigers. In his first year after the transfer, he secured a spot in the starting rotation, contributing to the league championship and Japan Series victory with an excellent record of 12 wins and 2 losses, and an ERA of 2.26. In his second year, 2024, he continued to perform well, achieving an 11-7 record with a 2.80 ERA.
Shun Mizutani, who transferred from SoftBank to Nippon-Ham in 2023, made his professional debut in his first year after the transfer, 2024. He secured a regular position starting from the interleague play and was awarded the interleague MVP. Over the season, he appeared in 97 games, achieving a solid performance with a batting average of.287 (94 hits in 327 at-bats), 9 home runs, and 39 RBIs.
Eito Tanaka, who transferred from Nippon-Ham to Yomiuri in 2024, appeared in 62 games, tied for second on the team, achieving his personal best performance with a 1-3 record, 36 holds, and a 2.13 ERA. Takuya Yazaki, who moved from Hiroshima to Yakult, also pitched well in relief, appearing in 45 games, tied for second on the team, with a 2-0 record, 12 holds, and a 1.93 ERA.