Lions land Takeuchi as their first round draft pick

 

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When the 2023 NPB Draft commenced, a form of normalcy returned in a giant conference room at a hotel with all executives gathering once again.

The Saitama Seibu Lions ended up getting LHP Natsuki Takeuchi, their intended target with the first round draft pick. Both the Yakult Swallows and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks tried to go for Takeuchi's rights, but manager Kazuo Matsui had the winning ticket. 

Takeuchi is thought to have some of the best control for a college pitcher and can hit 153 km/h. On paper, he could be in the Lions rotation for the start of 2024. 

Lions 2023 Draft Picks:

1. LHP Natsuki Takeuchi, Koku Gakuen University

2. RHP Taiga Ueda, Osaka Shogo University

3. LHP Haruki Sugiyama, Yokohama High School

4. RHP Harusei Narita, Hirosaki Kogyo High School

5. RHP Taisei Miyazawa, Tokushima Indigo Socks (Shikoku Island League)

6. IF Leon Murata, Kogakkan University 

 7. RHP Ryota Itogawa, ENOS

Ikusei picks

1.  LHP Sinclair Joseph Konosuke, Tokushima Indigo Socks

2. IF Asahi Taniguchi, Tokushima Indigo Socks

3. LHP Masahiro Kawashimo, Hakodate Yuto High School

4. IF Koji Kaneko, Saitama Musashi Heat Bears (BC League)

5. RHP Shota Kise, Kita Saga High School

6. OF Koichi Okumura, Gunma Diamond Pegasus (BC League)

We will have a detailed piece on all draft picks in a future post. 

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