DeNA selected Japan Aviation High School Ishikawa's Masanori Hozai (保西 雅則) in the second round. At a press conference, Hozai expressed his delight at being highly rated and said he aims to establish himself in the top team and play for Japan.
Masanori Hozai (保西 雅則) of Japan Aviation High School Ishikawa was reportedly selected in the second round by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars at the professional baseball draft on the 22nd. After the selection, Hozai said at a press conference that he was pleased to have been rated more highly than he had imagined. With his family watching, he waited for his name to be called on a monitor in a classroom at the nearby Japan Aviation College. He kept a straight face when his name was called, but tears fell when he embraced his mother.
Hozai is aware that he was rated as a position player rather than a pitcher in the second round, and said he was determined to work as hard as he could as a position player in response to the club's assessment. Although he is often regarded as a large right-handed pitcher at 190 cm tall and 104 kg, he has also led his team as its cleanup hitter. As his future goal, he cited first establishing himself in the top team, and said he ultimately aims to play for Japan.