The NPB Draft Explained

A guide to the Nippon Professional Baseball League Draft for new fans.

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[hinosatoyakyu]

2006 NPB Draft. Orix, Rakuten, Yokohama and Nippon-Ham select Masahiro Tanaka. Rakuten wins the lottery. Meanwhile, Hiroshima is the only team that selects Kenta Maeda and they do not have to compete with anyone else for a pitcher that would eventually win the Sawamura Award twice.

[romiarkan]

I see why in America this wouldn't be as well received, since obviously many teams want the same players especially in the first round. Imagine losing out on the top pitcher due to what's essentially a dice roll because other teams also wanted them. I would say this method would eliminate tanking in the MLB, and in fact would eliminate tanking in American sports as a whole.
I have a few questions. Do trades happen on draft day? Can teams trade down/up the order? Do teams trade players for prospects and future draft picks? If an NPB team happen to have multiple picks in a particular round, can they use them to increase the odds against other teams in the bidding process? Since NPB draft is more about finding year one starters, I figure the draft pick trades might get to NBA levels of crazy if trades are allowed.

[freddiegibbs]

Just heard this from Zach Lowe's podcast about possible wild ideas for the NBA. This is the best drafting system of all time. I'm sold, add this to every sport in some form or fashion.

[bigdog]

I love this system. The only tweak I would make for American sports is that I would weight the lottery, the worst team has 30 chances, the best has 1. It would still eliminate tanking, because the reward for tanking is only improved but still slim odds, but it would still, over the long haul, favor the bottom teams getting the players necessary to improve.

[Neinno]

It's an unwritten rule, but whatever player the Giants announce they will choose beforehand is taken as a 'Don't select this player' by the other teams. There are exceptions of course but it's still ridiculous.

[anthonypang]

Prefer the npb draft, much more entertaining

I watch it every year for the excitement of the lottery

[PacoTuesdays]

Did anyone watch this years draft live?tryna scout these dudes was hell cuz covid but most of the guys I scouted got drafted shout out to sato he’s next up go tigers 🐯 and fighters💫

[PacoTuesdays]

The savior of the fighters Hokkaido native ito

[LeClaw]

bet they don't call it a draft either in NPB. probably gets called "SUPER HAPPY PLAYER OF BASEBALL PICK TIME (now with 30% more seizure inducing flashes)"