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The story
The NPB draft meeting was held on October 22, and the Yomiuri Giants used their first-round pick to select Yokohama High School pitcher Shoki Oda (a third-year, 157 km/h-max right-hander) who had publicly declared his intent to pursue a Major League career — and they were the only team to pick him. With a domestic club locking down a player who had his sights set on negotiating with an MLB team, whether he actually signs now comes down to his own decision. On the 5ch “Geinou Supo Sokuhou+” (Entertainment & Sports Breaking News+) thread, discussion split over corrections to posts that misunderstood how the posting system and the pro draft declaration work, whether a candidate for new manager might be used to help persuade him to sign, and whether there’s any precedent for a player turning down a Giants first-round pick.
<NPB Draft Meeting> ◇October 22
The “NPB Draft Meeting, supported by Lipovitan D” was held on the 22nd starting at 4:50 PM.
The Yomiuri Giants used their first-round pick — and were the only team to do so — on Yokohama High School’s Shoki Oda (3rd year), a right-hander with a fastball topping out at 157 km/h who has declared his intent to pursue a Major League career.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
He's from a generation that doesn't even know who Matsui is.
That's not gonna do anything.
(Matsui is) the 5th-highest home run hitter among Japanese players in MLB history.
What are they gonna do?
Is your info stuck 10 years in the past?
They allow posting now.
They approved it for Shun Yamaguchi, Sugano, and Okamoto.
Both Yamaguchi and Sugano went through the posting system, you know.
It's SoftBank that doesn't allow it.
Can't blame people for suspecting there was some secret deal.
Sasaki, Ohtani.
Well, there's a chance it happens, so they'll lock him up just in case.
The rule is you file the pro draft declaration whether you're headed to MLB, the KBO, or an independent league.
MLB teams count as "professional" clubs, so to negotiate with a team over there you absolutely have to file the pro draft declaration.
If he were 100% set on a US college, like Rintaro Sasaki, he wouldn't need to file. But if there's even a hint of signing with a US team or going the college route, he has to file it even for the US path.
They should be drafting a slugger to fill the hole Okamoto left first.
They've already got plenty of good pitching talent.
They're taking Yoshida, aren't they?
There's no slugger this year worth taking in the first round.
Make someone with MLB experience (Matsui, Uehara, Takahashi) the new manager, and have them talk Oda into signing.
"MLB experience" — wait, you mean Hisanori Takahashi? lol
Hey, that Takahashi — you mean the Hisanori one? lol
Then straight to Yokohama High School.
They wouldn't do that before the Japan Series.
Besides, Oda doesn't even know Matsui's playing days.
It'll come down to persuasion. He clearly needs a mechanics overhaul anyway.
Jojima already fumbled it once with Rintaro Sasaki, so he can't afford to gamble twice.
SoftBank doesn't allow posting, so he'd turn them down anyway.
He can't negotiate with MLB teams without filing it either.
This whole premise is off from the start.
Guess they'll just have to invent an "NPB-decline" version of the pro draft declaration.
I can't see a reason to go to the Giants.
This isn't the Showa era anymore.
For a position player like Rintaro, getting to the US as early as possible is probably best, since the style of play and approach at the plate are totally different over there.
But for a pitcher, plenty of predecessors have proven that if you go straight from Japan and just adapt to the different ball, you can go all out from year one.
Either way it goes, it'll be interesting.
There was actually one guy who did — but that was over 50 years ago.
Teams with deep pockets where it's easy to get playing time — the Nippon-Ham Fighters and the (Yokohama) DeNA BayStars.
Background and key points of debate
Under NPB’s draft system, a player must file a “pro draft declaration” to become eligible either for selection by an NPB club or for negotiation with an MLB team. The reason Oda filed the declaration despite publicly stating his intent to try his luck in the US comes down to this rule — and the fact that some posts on the thread mistook the filing as “proof he wanted to join NPB” shows just how confusing the system is. On the other hand, the Giants’ sole first-round pick goes through regardless of Oda’s own wishes, so whether he actually signs is still up to future negotiations and is by no means settled at this point. Posters debated whether a potential new-manager candidate like Hideki Matsui might be used to help persuade him to sign, as well as whether there’s precedent for a player turning down a Giants first-round pick (a case from more than 50 years ago still remembered among longtime fans), with opinions split. Note that this article does not cover unverified claims about Oda’s family’s appearance or background.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou Supo Sokuhou+) thread “[Baseball] Giants Push Through a Sole First-Round Pick on Yokohama’s Shoki Oda — 157 km/h Righty Who Declared for the US“.
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